PSE opens Japan sales, support operation

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 73 KB
• Volume: 2005
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1464-2859
• DOI: 10.1016/s1464-2859(05)70754-9

✦ Synopsis

position for long periods of time. According to Timothy Huff, CEO of Sanswire's parent company GlobeTel, powering the airship overnight in windy conditions requires an energy-dense storage solution, and the RFC has the potential to fill that requirement.

The Stratellite is under development as a lowcost telecoms platform. Once in position in the stratosphere, at an altitude of 10-13 miles (16-21 km), the unmanned airship would remain at a single GPS coordinate, providing a wireless transmission platform covering 300 000 square miles (780 000 km 2 ) and capable of twoway, high-speed data communication. A prototype Stratellite, 188 feet (57 m) long, was completed and floated in May, with initial testing carried out under tether. Sanswire plans to launch the airship for full testing from Edwards Air Force Base in California later this year.