I’ve been fascinated by the videos and images people have been capturing with high-altitude balloons. This, however, is the first instance of a remote controlled space glider I’ve seen. The glider is transported to the upper reaches of the atmosphere by a balloon. Once the balloon bursts (see photo above), the plane is piloted back by remote control.
The glider is packed with electronics, including a first person video transmitter so the pilot can see where the plane is going. Check out the video to see the whole launch. There’s also a good blog post that goes into some of the details and challenges.
Photos by David Windestål