Big Bucks for Giant Blimp
I can't figure it out, honestly, what's behind this blimp fetish of mine. Maybe it's because I dig retro visions of the techno-future -- from pneumatic subways to mobile homes on the Moon; blimps somehow feed into that. Maybe it's the idea of being lighter than air that grabs me.
Either way, I'm not alone. There are a bunch of other people in the Defense Department who share my obsession. And they are handing out hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a new fleet of military airships.
The latest, Defense Industry Daily tells us: a $149 million contract to Lockheed, to build a massive High Altitude Airship that will look out for ballistic missile launches.
The blimp will hover above the jet stream at an altitude of 65,000 feet for months at a time and will also have the ability to detect low-flying missiles that may have slipped underneath ground-based radars. Once operational, it will be an important early-detection element of the broader U.S. missile defense architecture. It may also add as a weather surveyor and telecom relay.
There are a number of challenges associated with an effort of this nature.
Solar cells and an advanced fuel cells that can deliver up to 500 kW must be developed to power the craft. An aerodynamic design and a control system must be developed to help keep the airship steady amid the high winds at that altitude, without consuming excessive power. Another important factor is determining how the airship would react to changing temperatures as the sun rises and sets every day, heating and cooling the helium. Then there's the major challenge of finding materials for the airship's skin that are capable of withstanding the extreme ultraviolet radiation at such high altitudes for extended periods without becoming brittle.
But this HAA is actually a little less ambitious than earlier designs. Before, the airship was supposed to be King Kong big, at 25 times the size of the Goodyear Blimp. Now, it's merely huge, at two-and-a-half Goodyears in length. Plans to power the airship with lasers seem to have also fallen by the wayside, for now.
If everything goes well, a prototype HAA should be ready to fly in 2010. I can't wait.
UPDATE 5:23PM: Via the Wonk, here's a presentation on "Advanced Concepts in Missile Defense." The HAA is in there, as well as a program for one interceptor with "multiple kill vehicles."
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Some time has passed since this Defense Tech article, but during that time we've also managed to see a real threat of ballistics testing taking place by the North Koreans. It also highlighted the inadequacies in our own missle-defense systems as contractors are racing toward a solution that has an accuracy to fail rate of over 80 percent. Unfortunately, unless expressed by those contractors otherwise, that challenge has not been able to be met.
This recent article from The Engineer expresses the challenges with the near-space program quite eloquently, and appropriately. It lists the key players who are researching and developing the platforms toward a viable solution, as well as the challenges that each face.
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/294613/Return%20of%20the%20blimp%20.htm
If you're aware of the value added to procuring a working platform of this type, then you would understand the ramifications in the amount of government tax-payer dollars within the budget that could be potentially saved. There are a near endless variety of uses for such a platform and yes, the government is fully aware and is incentivizing the ones who do develop a working solution.
So far - Sanswire is in that lead. Lockheed had a fire at their hangar in Akron which actually exposed to the public that they didn't even have a prototype in its building phase, and wouldn't be expected for some time. It may be possible to suggest however that both companies can pursue this in their own ways and depending on its end-uses. Or, a technology partnership might be a good idea to consider.
Raytheon is also lending tentative support to Sanswire, and Sanswire has not taken or awarded any support from the support. There are a variety of documents on the web however that show the support that they are receiving in discussions from the top officers who are responsible for these initiatives.
And yes. It is very much a materials, technology, and environment issue. Bob Jones of Sanswire addresses his thoughts on Lockheed's design in The Engineer piece.
Posted by: Daniel at August 3, 2006 07:39 PM