Flying to the Edge of Space in a Fighter Jet

We’ve seen it in movies, but what is it really like to fly to the edge of space in a fighter jet?  Space Affairs in Russia, the world’s first commercial space agency, can give you the experience with their MIG-29UB High Performance Aerobatic Jetflight.  In this video, we see what it’s like to be a passenger, taking off from the SOKOL base at Nizhniy Novgorod then soaring into the clouds and beyond.

YouTube Description:
A flight with the MIG-29 “Fulcrum” to the edge of space is a spectacular and very emotional experience. Depending on weather conditions and total weight of the plane the flight will take you to altitudes between 70,000 and 75,000 feet.

German artist Michael Najjar performed a high altitude MIG-29 flight.

Michael Najjar is a german artist, adventurer and – future astronaut. Born in 1966, he has lived and worked in Berlin since 1988. His work is shown in museums, galleries and biennials around the world.

He works with photography and video. The focus of his work is on key elements of our modern society driven and controlled by computer and information technologies. Najjar, widely seen as a visual futurist, transmutes science, history and philosophy into visions and utopias of future social structures emerging under the impact of cutting-edge technologies. His current work series “outer space” deals with the latest developments in space flight and the way they will shape our future life on earth and in earth’s near orbit.

He used the footage and the pictures for his arts line “Gravitational Stress”. His interest was to go high as possible, and to do a lot or rolls. Both you can see in this video. Test pilot Yuri Polyakov flown him through the soundbarrier, to the edge of space and did a lot of rolls during the descent from high above. The stunning pictures of Earth’s atmosphere are a result of this flight.

More information about Michael Najjar and his arts: http://www.michaelnajjar.com.