“Surfing” on the edge of space: Airbus Perlan Mission II

On a cold and blustery spring day, nearly a dozen flight suit-clad pilots, scientists, glider experts and enthusiasts dart back and forth inside an airplane hangar in El Calafate Airport in Patagonia, Argentina. Like worker ants, volunteers of the nonprofit Perlan Project push and pull in unison to roll out the Perlan 2, an engineless glider with a 40-foot wingspan designed to fly 90,000 feet to the edge of outer space. 

In the summer of 2014, Airbus Group became the partner and title sponsor of Airbus Perlan Mission II, an initiative to fly an engineless glider into the upper regions of the atmosphere. The mission’s goal is to open new doors to understanding aspects of high-altitude flight, climate change and space exploration. 

Because it has no engine, Perlan 2 can explore the stratosphere in an eco-friendly manner. However, because it has no engine, Perlan 2 also needs some help becoming airborne, and a weather phenomenon known as stratospheric mountain waves provide this boost. 

Mountain waves are waves of air created when strong winds blow across the peaks of high mountain ranges. These powerful waves then project up towards the sky, creating a source of lift on which a glider can surf, like one would on an ocean wave. These mountain waves only occur in many mountain ranges on earth, but in a very few places -- like the Andes -- they can reach stratospheric altitudes. That is why the Perlan Project’s international team of aviators and scientists were based in the Argentine Patagonia for six weeks this past September.  

During its time in El Calafate, Perlan 2 conducted eight flights and reached a maximum altitude of 22,000 feet. While none of these flights were record-breaking yet, a secondary goal of this first deployment to Argentina was to use these pressurized flights to test and validate the life support systems that will keep the two pilots alive in atmospheric conditions similar to those on Mars. Those conditions will eventually provide valuable insight into how winged aircraft could operate above the Martian surface someday. Perlan 2 was also able to collect data that could help atmospheric scientists around the world improve climate models, observe atmospheric phenomena and ultimately find solutions for climate change.

This extraordinary project challenges the boundaries of modern-day research, atmospheric exploration and engineering, proving that for Airbus, the sky is definitely not the limit.

For more information:

Lindsy Caballero, Communication Specialist, Latin America & Caribbean
lindsy.caballero@airbus.com