| Subject: Re: Nasa strato-plane crashes |
Author:
Reagan
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 22:09:18 01/14/04 Wed
In reply to:
Info
's message, "Nasa strato-plane crashes" on 11:25:15 06/27/03 Fri
>A prototype solar plane that could one day lead to
>cheap "terrestrial satellites" has been destroyed in
>an accident in the Pacific.
>
>
>The Helios unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was lost on a
>checkout flight from the US Navy's Pacific Missile
>Range Facility on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
>Helios set an altitude record in 2001 for a
>non-rocket-powered winged aircraft when it climbed to
>96,863 feet (29.5 kilometres).
>
>Its design was intended to show that squadrons of
>"eternal planes" could remain aloft for months as
>low-orbit communications and environmental monitoring
>platforms.
>These UAVs would be launched and maintained at a
>fraction of the cost of putting satellites into space
>The US space agency (Nasa), which sponsored the Helios
>research, also sees a role for the technology in
>future drones to fly over the surface of Mars.
>
>The atmospheric conditions Helios encountered on its
>record-breaking adventures in 2001 are thought to
>resemble closely those found in the thin air of the
>Red Planet.
>Helios crashed about 30 minutes into Thursday's test
>light.
>The cause of the crash was unknown, Brown said. Nasa
>is forming an accident investigation team.
>With a wingspan of 247 feet (75 metres), Helios was
>wider than a Boeing 747. It looked more like a flying
>wing than a conventional plane and it was extremely
>light, weighing 2,400 pounds (1,080 kilograms).
>
>Current to power its 14 propeller motors and onboard
>electronics was generated by high-efficiency solar
>cells spread across the upper surface of the long
>wing.
>
>
>When it crashed, Helios was testing an experimental,
>renewable fuel-cell system that would have enabled the
>vehicle to store daylight power to keep it aloft
>during the night.
>Finding the right power storage system is seen as
>critical to the development of these UAVs. Without it,
>the planes of the future would have to be brought down
>during dark hours.
>Helios had been flying under the guidance of
>ground-based mission controllers for AeroVironment of
>Monrovia, California, the plane's builder and
>operator.
>Its people, along with those of Nasa and the US Navy,
>will make up the investigation team.
>The Helios altitude mark could be beaten in the next
>few months by a British UAV that plans to fly to
>123,000 ft (40 km). The Zephyr 3, which is much
>smaller (12-m wingspan; 14 kg), will not set an
>official record, however.
>The UK UAV is being carried aloft for the first 30,000
>ft (9 km) by a balloon and therefore does not qualify
>for an official record.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 