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yepper to learn more about the Earth's

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atmosphere

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nASA has launched scientists are now

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looking at a new generation of

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inexpensive aircraft made specifically

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for high-altitude studies called Perseus

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it is shown here in a hangar at NASA's

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Dryden Flight Research Center in

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California this remote-controlled blind

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as I understand the song it's thin wispy

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hangs and large 15-foot bomber made of

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strong ultralight composite materials

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the plane carries bottled oxygen to help

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fuel its gas-powered engine

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the upper reaches of the atmosphere it

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has the ability to fly twice as high as

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a commercial jetliner conceived by

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Aurora flight sciences in Manassas

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Virginia

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Perseus can carry 110 pounds of science

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payload NASA hopes to eventually

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commission a fleet of inexpensive global

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Watchers that can be launched anywhere

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in the world I think the excitement is

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that you're actually building a vehicle

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that's never been done before

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Jenny Bayer Reed hardheads a program to

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expand NASA's development and use of

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remotely piloted balloons the science

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community per se is is a quote war

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community so with these vehicles you

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have a little more cost-effective way of

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getting that type of data and

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information and then if it looks like

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you need more information to where you

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need a a higher payload manned vehicle

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capability you can then spend that money

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to bring that extra source in Perseus

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NASA's newest global watcher the first

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and the family of low cost airplanes

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designed to further

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in its effort to learn more about the

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scientist

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the new generation of inexpensive a

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draft made specifically for

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high-altitude studies called Perseus it

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is shown here in a hangar at NASA's

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Dryden Flight Research Center in

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this remote-controlled slider has a

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deceptively simple design it's thin

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wispy wears a Raj 15 foot proper made of

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strong electrolyte composite materials

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the plane carries marveled oxygen to

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help fuel its gas-powered engine when

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climbing into the upper reaches of the

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atmosphere it has the ability to fly

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twice as high as a commercial jetliner

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conceived by Aurora flight sciences in

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Manassas Virginia first years can carry

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110 pounds of science payloads NASA

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hopes to eventually commissioned a fleet

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of inexpensive global Watchers that can

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be launched anywhere in the world I

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think the excitement is that you're

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actually building a vehicle that's never

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been done before

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Jeni Bayer Reid hardheads a program to

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expand NASA's development and use of

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remotely piloted vehicles the science

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community per se is is a quote war

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community so with these vehicles you

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have a little more cost-effective way of

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getting that type of data and

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information and then if it looks like

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you need more information to where you

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need a a higher payload manned vehicle

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capability you can then spend that money

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to bring that extra source in according

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to a roar a project manager Tom Clancy

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there are advantages to keeping the

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pilot on the ground while an on-board

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computer interprets commands and adjusts

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flight controls when you leave the pilot

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on the ground a lot of hardware as well

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as the mass of the pilot doesn't have to

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be carried up to the particular position

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word that you're targeting perseus like

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a craft may enhance important studies of

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Earth's protective ozone shield over the

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North and South Poles

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both very hostile environments it turns

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out to be an extremely dangerous mission

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for a man vehicle because of the cold

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temperatures that you have below you and

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the inability to glide home from

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Antarctica in an engine out type of

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situation remotely controlled vehicles

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are under far less constraints than when

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a pilot is in the cockpit this allows

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the team to take some calculated risks

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and reduce development time

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Aurora's computer designer Martin Gomez

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I made a change to the software this

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morning which we're going to try to fly

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tomorrow morning if this were a manned

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airplane that would have paused our

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flight operations for weeks if not

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months adjustments are also being made

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on a toll release mechanism that will

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resolve handling during takeoff minor

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changes such as the one that's being

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done right now on the airplane can be

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done in a matter of hours because

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there's nobody's life at risk much of

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the design work that made Percy as

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possible grew out of a human powered

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flight project at MIT called

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Netherlands in 1988 this 69 pound craft

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flew a distance of 72 miles between the

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Greek islands of Crete and santorini the

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ultralight long flexible wings were able

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to keep the plane aloft at low speeds

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breaking new ground in aerodynamics

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building on their success several

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members of the MIT team branched out to

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form Aurora in creating Perseus they

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borrowed from the shape and design of

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the Daedalus wings

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Greg Zack was one of five cyclists

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pilots on the death

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project capitalizing on his skill in

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flying gliders and remotely controlled

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model airplanes zach has gone on to

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pilot Perseus okay ground equipment and

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payout the towline Aurora uses an open

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stretch of dry desert lake bed for

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I'm in position top okay go ahead and

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when all systems are sent the truck

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accelerates gently lived overseas into

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at 700 feet the towline is released and

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the ground team engages the propeller

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Perseus is free during operations Zack

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communicates with a blank Stanley who

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sits at a duplicate flight professional

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announces a ground station Zack must

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keep the plane in sight until coughing

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laughs okay trypsin airborne Frank

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Stanley's can take the Perseus control

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if not Martin Gomez and Tom plant

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sterols engineering of the plane and

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keep communication ties with the NASA

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the elements that these scientists are

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looking for particularly in

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stratospheric chemistry work are really

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very volatile and if they come in

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contact with the airplane they no longer

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exist and so both the slow speed and the

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ability for the payload to me in the

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nose is very important scientists argue

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that to positively determine the effects

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of ozone depletion by man-made chemicals

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or aircraft exhaust instruments need to

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fly slowly through specific areas of the

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upper atmosphere what we're trying to do

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is give the atmospheric scientists the

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ability to deliver his instrument to a

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place in space as often as possible as

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cheaply as possible this year Perseus

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will attempt to fly higher than any

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propeller driven remotely controlled

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aircraft

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a tremendous technical leap for the fact

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that we're making an airplane which is

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not designed to blow up people halfway

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around the world is rather comforting

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the end result of this air pool will be

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a better understanding of the Earth's

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atmosphere and I get a certain pleasure

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out of that I'm sure most of us do

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perseus NASA's newest global watcher the

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first and a family of low-cost airplanes