SCIENTISTS and engineers from Malvern will be playing crucial roles in QinetiQ's bid to break the world altitude record for a manned balloon flight.

The attempt, codenamed QinetiQ 1, will see pilots Andy Elson and Colin Prescott ascending to over 25 miles (130,000 feet) in the atmosphere, almost to the edge of space. The record of 113,740 feet, by a US Navy team, has stood since 1961.

Among the ways in which Malvern will be contributing to the project is with a technique known as photon rangefinding, used to determine the height of the balloon.

The balloon is also set to carry an experiment in quantum cryptography, which is also being developed in Malvern.

QinetiQ spokesman Stephen Cooke said there are likely to be other contributions from Malvern in areas such as telemetry and communications.

The attempt is likely some time between July and September next year with a UK launch site. It is intended to fly on a clear day, and it is thought that at altitude, the balloon, as large as the Empire State Building, will be visible more than 600 miles away.