Stratospheric airship flew from US to Japan to test sky cell tower concept
Summary
A US aerospace company, Sceye, flew a large helium-filled, solar-powered airship from New Mexico to Japan and back to test using it as a flying cell phone tower. This airship hovers high in the stratosphere about 60,000 feet above Earth, where it can stay over the same area for a long time and provide mobile coverage.Key Facts
- Sceye’s airship is uncrewed and uses helium to float and electric propellers to move.
- It can hover twice as high as commercial airplanes and above strong jet stream winds.
- The airship’s solar panels charge onboard batteries to operate day and night.
- It flew over 9,320 miles (15,000 km) across the Pacific Ocean from New Mexico to Japan and back.
- The platform is 270 feet (83 meters) long and can carry payloads up to 220 pounds (100 kg) with plans to increase capacity to 551 pounds (250 kg).
- The goal is to provide mobile broadband coverage equal to 500 cell towers from the sky.
- This technology could improve internet service and help in emergencies by providing coverage when ground networks are down.
- Advances in materials, like graphene, have helped make the airship strong but light and efficient.
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