MSNBC:
Suborbital balloons that would reside in Earth's stratosphere
and a balloon probe that would travel to Saturn's moon Titan
are among the devices being tested by NASA in conjunction with
Near Space Corp, a company based in Oregon. The company has
also tested prototypes for an airplane that would be carried to
Mars via spacecraft, then unfold itself to fly through the
Martian atmosphere. Although NASA ultimately decided not to go
ahead with that project, they did select Near Space as one of
the seven companies to receive a contract for suborbital
flights. Currently, typical balloon-borne experiments float
back to the ground via parachute, but the company is working on
a new type of aircraft that could fly itself back to base once
it separates from its balloon.
