High-altitude airship
Encyclopedia
The United States Department of Defense
Missile Defense Agency contracted Lockheed Martin
to construct a high-altitude airship (HAA) to enhance its Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS).
An unmanned lighter-than-air vehicle, the HAA, was intended to operate above the jet stream
in a quasi-geostationary position to deliver persistent station keeping
as a surveillance platform, telecommunications relay, or a weather observer. They proposed to launch their HAA in 2008.
The airship would be in the air for up to one month at a time and was intended to survey a 600 miles (965.6 km) diameter of land. It would use solar cells to provide its power and would be unmanned during its flight.
It was designed to be 500 feet (152.4 m) long and 150 feet (45.7 m) in diameter. To minimize weight it was to be composed of high strength fabrics and use lightweight propulsion technologies.
The HAA was intended to operate at a height of above 60000 feet (18,288 m) and to have a payload for military use.
Due to budget problems the HAA program was cancelled in 2008.
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
Missile Defense Agency contracted Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
to construct a high-altitude airship (HAA) to enhance its Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS).
An unmanned lighter-than-air vehicle, the HAA, was intended to operate above the jet stream
Jet stream
Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. The main jet streams are located near the tropopause, the transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere . The major jet streams on Earth are westerly winds...
in a quasi-geostationary position to deliver persistent station keeping
Station keeping
Station keeping may refer to:*Orbital stationkeeping, manoeuvres used to keep a spacecraft in an assigned orbit*Nautical stationkeeping, maintaining a seagoing vessel in a position relative to other vessels or a fixed point...
as a surveillance platform, telecommunications relay, or a weather observer. They proposed to launch their HAA in 2008.
The airship would be in the air for up to one month at a time and was intended to survey a 600 miles (965.6 km) diameter of land. It would use solar cells to provide its power and would be unmanned during its flight.
It was designed to be 500 feet (152.4 m) long and 150 feet (45.7 m) in diameter. To minimize weight it was to be composed of high strength fabrics and use lightweight propulsion technologies.
The HAA was intended to operate at a height of above 60000 feet (18,288 m) and to have a payload for military use.
Due to budget problems the HAA program was cancelled in 2008.
See also
- Stratospheric airshipStratospheric airshipA stratospheric airship is a powered airship designed to fly at very high altitudes . Most designs are remote operated aircraft/unmanned aerial vehicles. To date none of these designs have received approval from the FAA to fly in U.S...
- High-altitude platform
- Orbital airshipOrbital airshipThe orbital airship, also called the space blimp, is a proposed space transportation system that carries payloads to and from low Earth orbit...
- 21st Century Airships21st Century Airships21st Century Airships Inc. is a Canada-based research and development company for airship technologies. Projects have included the development of a spherical shaped airship as well as airships for high altitude, environmental research, surveillance and military applications, heavy lifting and...