 In its effort to learn more about the Earth's atmosphere, NASA has launched a variety of experiments using balloons, rockets and planes. Scientists are now looking at a new generation of inexpensive aircraft made specifically for high-altitude studies. Called Perseus, it is shown here in a hanger at NASA's Dry and Flight Research Center in California. Okay, please remove the ground equipment and pay out the tow line. Clearance from the tower. I'm in position, Tom. This remote-controlled glider has a deceptive or simple design. It's thin, wispy wings and large 15-foot proper made of strong ultralight composite materials. The plane carries bottled oxygen to help fuel its gas-powered engine when flying into the upper reaches of the atmosphere. It has the ability to fly twice as high as a commercial jet liner. Conceived by Aurora Flight Sciences in Manassas, Virginia, Perseus can carry 110 pounds of science payload. NASA hopes to eventually commission a fleet of inexpensive global watchers that can be launched anywhere in the world. I think the excitement is that you're actually building a vehicle that's never been done before. Jenny Bayer-Reedhart heads a program to expand NASA's development and use of remotely-piloted vehicles. The science community, Perseus, is a quote, war community. So with these vehicles, you have a little more cost-effective way of getting that type of data and information. And then if it looks like you need more information to where you need a higher payload manned vehicle capability, you can then spend that money to bring that extra source in. Perseus, NASA's newest global watcher. The first in a family of low-cost airplanes designed to further our understanding of Earth's atmosphere. In its effort to learn more about the Earth's atmosphere, NASA has launched a variety of experiments using scientific movements, sounding rockets, high-altitude reconnaissance and one of the fastest planes in the sky. Scientists are now looking at a new generation of inexpensive aircraft made specifically for high-altitude studies. Called Perseus, it is shown here in a hangar at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. This remote-controlled glider has a deceptively simple design. Its thin, wispy wings and large 15-foot prop are made of strong ultralight composite materials. The plane carries bottled oxygen to help fuel its gas-powered engine when climbing into the upper reaches of the atmosphere. It has the ability to fly twice as high as a commercial jetliner. Conceived by Aurora Flight Sciences in Manassas, Virginia, Perseus can carry 110 pounds of science payload. NASA hopes to eventually commission a fleet of inexpensive global watchers that can be launched anywhere in the world. I think the excitement is that you're actually building a vehicle that's never been done before. C. Bayer-Reedhart heads a program to expand NASA's development and use of remotely piloted vehicles. The science community, Perseus, is a quote, poor community. So with these vehicles, you have a little more cost-effective way of getting that type of data and information. And then if it looks like you need more information to where you need a higher payload man vehicle capability, you can then spend that money to bring that extra source in. According to Aurora project manager Tom Clancy, there are advantages to keeping the pilot on the ground while an onboard computer interprets commands and adjusts flight controls. When you leave the pilot on the ground, a lot of the hardware as well as the mass of the pilot doesn't have to be carried up to the particular position that you're targeting. Perseus-like aircraft may enhance important studies of Earth's protective ozone shield over the north and south poles. Both very hostile environments. It turns out to be an extremely dangerous mission for a manned vehicle because of the cold temperatures that you have below you and the inability to glide home from Antarctica in an engine out type of situation. Remotely controlled vehicles are under far less constraints than when a pilot is in the cockpit. This allows the team to take some calculated risks and reduce development time. Aurora's computer designer Martin Gomez. I made a change to the software this morning which we're going to try to fly tomorrow morning. If this were a manned airplane, that would have paused our flight operations for weeks if not months. Adjustments are also being made on a tow release mechanism that will resolve handling during takeoff. Minor changes such as the one that's being done right now on the airplane can be done in a matter of hours because there's nobody's life at risk. Much of the design work that made Perseus possible grew out of a human-powered flight project at MIT called Deadless. In 1988, this 69-pound craft flew a distance of 72 miles between the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini. The ultralight long, flexible wings were able to keep the plane aloft at low speeds, breaking new ground in aerodynamics. Building on their success, several members of the MIT team branched out to form Aurora. In creating Perseus, they borrowed from the shape and design of the Deadless wings. Greg Zack was one of five cyclist pilots on the Deadless project. Capitalizing on his skill in flying gliders and remotely controlled model airplanes, Zack has gone on to pilot Perseus. Okay, please remove the ground equipment and pay out the tow line. Aurora uses an open stretch of dry desert lake bed for flight testing. I'm in position, Tom. Okay, go ahead and accelerate and call. Accelerating, now. When all systems are set, the truck accelerates, gently lifting Perseus into the air like a kite on a strain. At 700 feet, the tow line is released and the ground team engages the propeller. Perseus is free. During flight operations, Zack communicates with another pilot, Frank Stanley, who sits at a duplicate flight console inside the ground station. Zack must keep the plane in sight during takeoff and landing. Once airborne, Frank Stanley can take over Perseus' control. Martin Gomez and Tom Clancy help Stanley with the engineering of the plane and keep communication ties with the NASA tower and launch team at the lake bed. 50 knots. Okay, we're turning the base to final. Eventually, kite testing will reach altitudes of 80 to 90,000 feet, where their atmospheric research can begin. The elements that these scientists are looking for, particularly in stratospheric chemistry work, are really very volatile, and if they come in contact with the airplane, they no longer exist. So both the slow speed and the ability for the payload to be in the nose is very important. Scientists argue that to positively determine the effects of ozone depletion by man-made chemicals or aircraft exhaust, instruments need to fly slowly through specific areas of the upper atmosphere. What we're trying to do is give the atmospheric scientists the ability to deliver his instrument to a place in space as often as possible, as cheaply as possible. This year, Perseus will attempt to fly higher than any propeller-driven remotely controlled aircraft. A tremendous technical leap forward. The fact that we're making an airplane which is not designed to blow up people halfway around the world is rather comforting. The end result of this airplane will be a better understanding of the Earth's atmosphere, and I get a certain pleasure out of that. I'm sure most of us do. Perseus, NASA's newest global watcher. The first in a family of low-cost airplanes designed to further our understanding of Earth's atmosphere.