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Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems
& Sensors, is developing a High Altitude Airship under a
technology demonstration program funded the US Missile defense
Agency. The unmanned, untethered solar powered prototype airship
with be able to remain on station for 30 days at a cruise altitude
of 60,000 feet. With a minimum payload capacity of 500 pounds and
on-board supply of 3 kW of power the airship will be able to carry
a missile detection and warning equipment augmenting current
ground- and space-based capabilities. The current program cost is
estimated at US $149 million with completion expected by November
2010. Lockheed Martin is already developing a larger prototype
airship expected to carry 4,000 pound payloads and 10 KW power.
The High Altitude Airship (HAA)
is developed under advanced technology concept demonstration (ACTD)
$40 million design and risk reduction program. This prototype is
expected to be completed in 2006. Once successfuly demonstrated in
flight testing, the HAA is expected to provide a test bed for the
Ballistic Missile defense Agency. The HAA will be about 500 feet
long, 160 feet in diameter and have a volume of 5.2 million cubic
feet.
The target HAA will be even
larger. According to Lockheed Martin, the unmanned HAA 'blimp' is
designed to operate for extended durations at an altitude of
65,000 feet, well above the flying altitude of aircraft or air
defense missiles. The blimp's sensors will cover a ground and
airspace footprint of at least 700 miles in diameter and more than
4 million cubic miles of airspace. HAA will be capable of lifting
various mission-specific payloads, including radar, communications
and passive electronic and imaging (EO/IR) sensors. Unlike
satellites, HAA will be able to return to its base for resupply
and refitting with different payloads, to accommodate evolving
mission requirements. Using helium for lift and four
electric-powered propulsion systems for directional flight and
control, the HAA would maintain a quasi-geostationary position and
have capacity to relocate. The ground-based command and control
system will communicate with the airship via line-of-sight and
beyond line-of-sight methods. Its vehicle management system will
use autonomous, manual and remote-piloted modes, and will monitor
vehicle health, perform systems diagnostics, control the system's
operating environment at the equipment bays, and evaluate the hull
structure.
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