Science reporter Matthew Wald visited the Perlan Project in Bend, Oregon recently to see for himself an aircraft that just might conquer the heights – 90,000 feet – in a world-record attempt that will investigate the polar vortex and the ozone hole. His report in the October 21 New York Times highlights the intellectual investment in the project, with extremes of aircraft design reaching toward extreme goals. Perlan II will fly higher than any powered or unpowered aircraft in a sustained fashion. Zoom climbs in which American and Russian fighters emulated rocket ships to reach altitude records were more ballistic than controlled. Those who recall The Right Stuff will remember Chuck Yeager’s frantic and finally unrecoverable tail slide back from the edges of space. The on-line version of the story has the advantage of including a video that very nicely explains the goals and aspirations – as well as the hazards, associated with the flight. The article has brought a …