Helios To Attempt Record Altitude Flight

TECH SPACE

The Helios Prototype flying wing is shown over the Hawaiian island of Nihau during its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy;s Pacific Missile Range Facility. Photo by Nick Galante

Edwards - August 9, 2001
A new world's altitude record for a non-rocket-powered aircraft could be achieved over Hawaii this weekend by the NASA-sponsored Helios Prototype solar-electric flying wing.

The flight from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on the island of Kauai is tentatively set for Saturday, Aug. 11, with backup flight days scheduled for Aug. 12 and 13, and Aug. 16 through 19.

The Helios Prototype is believed capable of reaching altitudes in the vicinity of 100,000 feet under ideal conditions.

Engineers estimate the aircraft could reach at least 95,000 feet on this mission with 100,000 feet still a possibility, well above the current record of 85,068 feet for sustained horizontal flight set by a SR-71 in 1966.

Designed and built by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., the ultra-lightweight Helios Prototype's development is funded and managed under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project.

The demonstration flight should validate the Helios' capability as a platform for high-altitude environmental monitoring and atmospheric sampling missions.

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