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From Strausberg to Mount Everest - Part 1 + 2

May 19, 2015

A premiere on the world’s highest mountain! A team of German pilots and scientists has flown a motorized glider over 8,848-meter-high Mount Everest for the first time. They had a special 3D camera mounted on board.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Et6u
Image: DW

Part 1

27.03.2015 DW Feature Doku Von Straussberg zum Mount Everest 2
“Namaste. Welcome to Nepal," after 12 days and halfway around the world in motor gliders.Image: DW

Researchers from the German Aerospace Center in Berlin want to use the camera to produce the most accurate 3-D models of the Himalayas ever seen. Environmental researchers and mountain rescue and disaster relief services will be able to make good use of the measurements. Charting potentially fatal air turbulence between the highest mountains of the world should also make passenger flights safer. These are ambitious research goals for this mission to Nepal with the "Stemme S10", a high-tech motor glider from Strausberg near Berlin.


The Mission Faces Failure at the Outset

Even the flight there turns into an adventure: 10.000 kilometers halfway around the globe to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. And even then they can’t get started because they don’t have any flight permits. So the research team makes a virtue of necessity and set about exploring the country and its fascinating local culture on the ground and preparing themselves for operations under extreme conditions.

Part 2

A few weeks later, the adventure begins in earnest. The flight permits have arrived and the Nepal mission can start. From the airport in the subtropical town of Pokhara at the foot of the Annapurna massif with its eight-thousand-meter peaks, research flights take off for the highest mountains in the world.



Will the Research Adventure Succeed?

There are concerns that the aerial camera won’t be able to withstand the sub-zero temperatures and loss of air pressure at high altitudes. Will it still be able to deliver usable images for high-resolution 3D models of glacier areas, where avalanches and landslides are a constant threat to the locals? The pilots carry sensors on their chests, foreheads and lower legs: these monitor the lack of oxygen at high altitudes. As long as the summit isn’t hidden by cloud, every hour is used for flying.

27.03.2015 DW Feature Doku Von Straussberg zum Mount Everest 4
The gliders pass back and forth over the mountain until it has been completely photographed by the special camera.Image: DW





Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1:

DW

WED 08.04.2015 – 22:15 UTC
THU 09.04.2015 – 06:15 UTC
THU 09.04.2015 – 13:15 UTC
THU 09.04.2015 – 17:15 UTC
FRI 10.04.2015 – 04:15 UTC
FRI 10.04.2015 – 10:15 UTC
TUE 14.04.2015 – 16:15 UTC
TUE 14.04.2015 – 20:15 UTC
TUE 14.04.2015 – 23:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 02:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 05:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 08:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 12:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW (Europe)

THU 09.04.2015 – 04:15 UTC
THU 09.04.2015 – 17:15 UTC
FRI 10.04.2015 – 06:15 UTC
FRI 10.04.2015 – 13:15 UTC
TUE 14.04.2015 – 16:15 UTC
TUE 14.04.2015 – 23:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 02:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 05:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 12:15 UTC

London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Arabia)

THU 09.04.2015 – 04:15 UTC
TUE 14.04.2015 – 23:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 02:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 05:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

THU 09.04.2015 – 06:15 UTC
WED 15.04.2015 – 08:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3

Part 2:

DW

WED 15.04.2015 – 22:15 UTC
THU 16.04.2015 – 06:15 UTC
THU 16.04.2015 – 13:15 UTC
THU 16.04.2015 – 17:15 UTC
FRI 17.04.2015 – 04:15 UTC
FRI 17.04.2015 – 10:15 UTC
TUE 21.04.2015 – 16:15 UTC
TUE 21.04.2015 – 20:15 UTC
TUE 21.04.2015 – 23:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 02:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 05:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 08:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 12:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW (Europe)

THU 16.04.2015 – 04:15 UTC
THU 16.04.2015 – 17:15 UTC
FRI 17.04.2015 – 06:15 UTC
FRI 17.04.2015 – 13:15 UTC
TUE 21.04.2015 – 16:15 UTC
TUE 21.04.2015 – 23:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 02:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 05:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 12:15 UTC

London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Arabia)

THU 16.04.2015 – 04:15 UTC
TUE 21.04.2015 – 23:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 02:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 05:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 2 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

THU 16.04.2015 – 06:15 UTC
WED 22.04.2015 – 08:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3