Lockheed Martin (Stock: LMT) is undertaking a USD $400 million contract to construct a prototype of a solar powered airship for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Air Force.
The High Altitude Airship (HAATM) is an unmanned vehicle, operating above the jet stream in a geostationary position to deliver continual services as a surveillance platform, telecommunications relay or as a weather observer.
The High Altitude Long Endurance-Demonstrator (HALE-D) is expected to be tested this year. The performance goals for the prototype HAA include sustained operations for at least two weeks at 18,288 metres metres altitude, while providing 500 watts of power to around 25 kilograms of electronic surveillance equipment.
The 73 metre prototype airship will be propelled by a couple of 2kW electric motors powered by a 40 kWh lithium ion polymer deep cycle battery bank. The batteries will charged by a 15kW thin film solar panel array.
A full scale version of the solar powered airship could potentially stay aloft for years, continually surveying a 965 kilometre diameter area and millions of cubic kilometres of airspace, and at a fraction of the cost of conventional aircraft or satellites.
