Nov 19 1998
From The Space Library
NASA's ER-2 aircraft, a "close relative" of the U-2 spy plane, officially broke the altitude record for medium-weight planes when it flew to 68,700 feet (20,900 meters), nearly twice the cruising altitude of commercial airliners, during a mission to measure components of the atmosphere. A Canadian P-42 aircraft had set the previous record of 62,500 feet (19,050 meters) in 1988. NASA officials said the craft had flown at such altitudes in the past, but this flight was the first time that scientists had documented its altitude and made it public.
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