Steve Fossett plane found; remembering Fossett & NASA

 

As officials today confirmed that the wreckage of aviator  Steve Fossett's single-engine plane had been found in California, it's time to recall the ties between NASA and the record-setting adventurer.

Shown here is Fossett, piloting Virgin Atlantic's GlobalFlyer into Kennedy Space Center in Florida in Feb. 2006. In the background is the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

Fossett and and Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson worked out a deal with NASA to use the Shuttle Landing Facility as the launch point for Fossett's bid to fly the longest distance without landing. Based out of KSC, Fossett succeeded, as Wiki notes:

Fossett set the absolute world record for "distance without landing" by flying from the Kennedy Space Center,  Florida, around the world eastbound, then upon returning to Florida continuing across the Atlantic  second time to land in Bournemouth, England. The official distance was 25,766 statute miles (41,467 km) and the duration was 76 hours 43 minutes.

Later that year, Fossett and co-pilot Einar Enevoldson used NASA spacesuits to set another record high above the Andes. As the Steve Fossett "Challenges" home page explains:

...pilot Steve Fossett (USA b. 1944) and co-pilot Einar Enevoldson (USA b. 1932) took their 'Perlan' high performance research glider on the world's first stratrospheric glider flight yesterday - surfing the Andean 'mountain wave' to a height of 50,671 feet (15,447 m) * - while breaking the previous record by 1,662 ft (507m) . The old record 49,009 ft (14,940 m) by Robert Harris was set in 1986 in California.

The August 2006 was flown in conjunction with research at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

Yesterday, a hiker found paperwork and clothing in the rugged Sierras near Mammoth Lake, CA. Today, search crews found the shattered remains of Fossett's plane. Early guesses from those at the search say that it looks like Fossett may literally have flown into the side of a mountain, an accident hard to believe given the Fossett's skill and the tools aboard his Bellanca Super Decathlon single-engine aircraft

Fossett disappeared Sept. 3, 2007. Searches for him included on-the-ground, in-flight, and Google Earth searches by computers, all to no avail until a hiker veering off a trail stumbled across Fossett's FAA license and other paperwork.

The first person to fly solo around the world using a balloon--accomplished on his ninth attempt--Fossett set 116 records in five different sports. In addition to his aviation records, Fossett also made history in the sailing world, and tackled  mountain climbing, skiing, car racing, swimming, and the Iditarod Trail sled dog race in Alaska.