Tags: Aircraft.
The Advanced Soaring Concepts Apex was a remotely piloted sailplane designed to take part in a NASA study of high-altitude aerodynamics. It was planned to lift the aircraft to around 100000 ft (30487 m) by balloon and release it there. Rockets would assist the aircraft to transition to horizontal flight. The Apex’s wing was designed by Dr Mark Drela of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and mounted a wake rake containing sensors to measure drag behind the wing.