[LINK] BPL, Skystation and other flames for venture capital moths

[Jan Whitaker]

At 07:06 PM 15/03/2009, Robin Whittle wrote:
>Solar powered stratospheric blimps on duty above major metropolitan
>areas, carrying microwave transponders.  Not a bad idea . . . except
>for the weight of the solar cells, the impossibility of building
>long-lasting batteries or fuel cells to get it though the night, the
>immense challenges of making ion engines work at all, let alone
>produce enough thrust to handle the winds . . . and the permeability
>of most materials to those slippery little helium atoms.  (Would H2
>have been better, I wonder?)  Also, it is not clear how the craft
>could be kept at the same height with differences in temperature,
>air density etc.  Then, even if it worked, and could be kept on
>station, pointing in the right direction, not moving around too
>much, there is the "single point of failure" problem.

May be on a comeback:

nloop writes "The Pentagon is intending to 
develop a new spy ship ­ a dirigible. At 65,000 
feet it would provide a 10 year, solar power 
based, unblinkingly intricate and continuous view 
of the surface via radar surveillance. Because of 
its altitude it would be safe from surface-to-air 
missiles and most aircraft. A 1/3-scale 
prototype, now being designed, is 'known as ISIS, 
for Integrated Sensor Is the Structure, because 
the radar system will be built into the structure 
of the ship. ... 'If successful, the dirigible... 
could pave the way for a fleet of spy airships, military officials said.'"

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/14/1950213&from=rss




Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the 
world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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