The highest altitude achieved was 63,245 feet (19,277 m) in October 2000. The Proteus is the current holder of a number of FAI world records for altitude (class: C1-e: landplanes 3,000-6,000 kg, Group: 3, turbojet), set in cooperation with NASA Dryden. During the week-long show, it flew each day, demonstrating its capabilities as a telecommunications platform.
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It was flown non-stop from Bangor, Maine to Paris. In June, Proteus was deployed internationally for the first time, debuting at the Paris Air Show. The Proteus wing was adapted for use on the Model 318 White Knight carrier aircraft, which is the launch system for Rutan's Tier One spacecraft and the DARPA X-37.įlight testing of the Proteus began with its first flight on Jat the Mojave Airport and continued through the end of 1999. Under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project, NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center assisted Scaled Composites in developing a sophisticated station-keeping autopilot system and a satellite communications (SATCOM)-based uplink-downlink data system for Proteus' performance and payload data. However, it also has the capability to perform its missions semi-autonomously or flown remotely from the ground. Proteus is an "optionally piloted" aircraft ordinarily flown by two pilots in a pressurized cabin. Its wingspan of 77 feet 7 inches (23.65 m) is expandable to 92 feet (28 m) with removable wingtips installed. Proteus has an all-composite airframe with graphite-epoxy sandwich construction. It is currently owned by Northrop Grumman. An extremely efficient design, the Proteus can orbit a point at over 65,000 feet (19,800 m) for more than 18 hours.
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The Proteus is actually a multi-mission vehicle, able to carry various payloads on a ventral pylon. The Scaled Composites Model 281 Proteus is a tandem-wing High-Altitude Long Endurance aircraft designed by Burt Rutan to investigate the use of aircraft as high altitude telecommunications relays.