Share This article

The only aircraft to make it to the edge of space thus far have been advanced military jets, but next year an engineless glider could reach a record altitude, at least that’s the goal of the team behind the super-efficient Perlan 2 aircraft. The Perlan 2 just completed its first test flight at a modest altitude of 5,000 feet, but next year it’s headed for 90,000 feet — and all of it without any means of propulsion.

The only two winged aircraft to fly at such high altitudes are the US Air Force’s SR-71 Blackbird and the U-2 spy plane. The SR-71 holds the current record at 85,096 feet, and the U-2 managed just over 70,000. A commercial airliner typically flies at about 30,000 feet. These aircraft both used powerful engines to reach the edge of space, but how can an unpowered glider do it? It surfs the air currents of the polar vortex.

The polar vortex is a massive circulating air current around the north and south polar regions. At certain times of year, the polar vortex can add significant energy to sub-polar air currents. As air currents pass over mountainous regions, massive updrafts are created in the atmosphere. When the polar vortex is active, these updrafts can reach well above the troposphere (where we live) and into the stratosphere. These are the currents that will allow the Perlan 2 glider to reach the upper atmosphere. It’ll still have to be launched with the aid of a powered airplane, though.

An early version of this aircraft has managed to cruise along at over 50,000 feet back in the 90s, but now the project is backed by aerospace firm Airbus. The more refined Perlan 2 glider has a wingspan of 84 feet, but the fuselage is tiny, with barely enough space for two pilots and a few scientific instruments. This is not going to be a replacement for passenger planes any time soon.

Simply maintaining stable flight at 90,000-100,000 feet is a challenge. At that altitude, the Earth’s atmosphere is as dense as that of Mars. The Perlan group will spend the next year performing additional flight tests at increasingly high altitudes. The big 90,000 foot attempt will take place in the summer of 2016 over Patagonia.

This project isn’t just about setting records. The Perlan 2 glider could be a boon to climate and atmospheric research. Looking down on Earth from this altitude could give scientists access to a mountain of data about weather, ozone depletion, and more. And it might do it all without burning a drop of jet fuel.