Stratospheric airships (stratodirigibles or "stratellites") - designed airships that will operate in the uppermost layers of the atmosphere , almost at the lower boundary of space .
Content
Description
It is proposed to use unmanned airplanes to communicate with the strato-airship, repair, refuel or upgrade equipment without landing on the ground. The advantage of stratospheric airships over aircraft that can perform similar functions is the fact that the stratosphere has not yet been mastered by commercial aircraft, and therefore there are no problems with adjusting the movement of aircraft at these altitudes. Compared with communication satellites, stratodirigibles have an advantage in the cost of launch and maintenance, in addition, they do not litter the orbit after decommissioning. In addition, at an altitude of about 20 km, the radio horizon is about 750 km, and this makes it possible to maintain stable communication at this distance, which is quite comparable with satellite communications.
Development
The development of airships by the Pentagon is carried out in two directions. On the one hand, small cheap balloons and tactical airships are being created, and on the other hand, work is underway to design strategic stratospheric airships. In US military circles, much attention is paid to the development of stratospheric layers above 20 km, often called “precosmos” ( English “ near space ” ). It is assumed that unmanned airships and solar-powered airplanes (like NASA Pathfinder ) will be able to stay at an altitude of about 30 km for a long time and provide surveillance and communications over very large areas, while remaining vulnerable to air defense systems; such devices will be many times cheaper than satellites . [2]
Flights
Flights to the stratosphere began in the 1930s. The flight on the first stratosphere balloon (FNRS-1), which Auguste Picard and Paul Kipfer performed on May 27, 1931 to an altitude of 16.2 km, is widely known. Modern combat and commercial supersonic aircraft fly in the stratosphere at altitudes of mainly up to 20 km (although the dynamic ceiling can be significantly higher). High-altitude weather balloons rise to 40 km; the record for an unmanned aerostat is 51.8 km.
In 2005, the Pentagon announced the development of a program for the construction of military balloons and airships, which will operate in the uppermost layers of the atmosphere, almost at the lower boundary of space. These balloons will keep in touch, carry out reconnaissance from the stratosphere , in which planes cannot fly.
In 2005, the Pentagon's Advanced Defense Research Projects Agency (DARPA) also commissioned the U.S. Air Force to conduct research into the development of a reconnaissance balloon capable of operating on the upper border of the stratosphere , that is, at an altitude of about 80 km. In fact, it will be a suborbital apparatus .
Notes
- ↑ High Altitude Airship | Lockheed Martin Archived November 14, 2010.
- ↑ Near Space as a Combat Effects Enabler Archived on September 29, 2011.