EYE IN THE SKY The STS-111 aircraft, which is still in prototype, is in essence a worm-like weather balloon that undulates through the Earth's lower atmosphere.
Image: © SANSWIRE CORP.
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Aerial drones have garnered a lot of attention (and controversy) for their ability to launch missile strikes for the U.S. military against enemies in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other hotspots. However, the Department of Defense is now cultivating another type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for use in combat planning, designed to soar high above the battlefield for so-called ISR (intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance) missions.
The STS-111 aircraft, which is still in prototype, is in essence a worm-like weather balloon that undulates through the Earth's lower atmosphere, guided by satellite or ground communications or programmed to operate autonomously. "It's really a communications platform that has the ability to provide ISR," says Dan Erdberg, vice president of operations for Sanswire Corp. in Aventura, Fla. Sanswire and Stuttgart, Germany-based TAO Technologies formed a new entity called Sanswire-TAO in June 2008 specifically to develop, market and sell a lineup of ISR UAVs (the STS-111 being their first).
The 33.8-meter long STS-111 is made up of four segments that form what Erdberg refers to as an "airchain" platform. The first segment consists of a bullet-shaped balloon filled with helium, making it lighter than air. The remaining three segments (connected by hinges) house a single, elongated balloon filled with a gaseous fuel made of mostly methane, making it neutrally buoyant (the balloon's mass equals the mass of the air it displaces).
All four segments are contained within a large vented bag that helps the segments move by allowing air to flow in and out. As the aircraft takes off, the gas in each of the balloons expands, forcing air out of the outer bag. At the same time a blower attached under the first segment sends air back into the outer bag. This constant flow of air into and out of the bag creates the motion that helps the STS-111 gain altitude. A small propeller affixed to the underside of the first segment provides thrust and steering.
When fully inflated the STS-111's widest point is 3.4 meters, and it can carry a payload (cameras and sensors, for example) of up to 9.1 kilograms over a distance of 2,800 kilometers. The aircraft is designed to carry out its missions at altitudes between 3,048 to 9,144 meters.
The Sanswire-TAO aircraft is different from other military drones in several ways, but the two most important are cost and flight duration. Whereas the STS-111 costs about $3 million to make, the Air Force's new "Gorgon Stare" UAV, essentially a Reaper drone fitted with wide-area surveillance sensors, costs about $15 million. And, while a fully loaded Reaper can stay in the air for a maximum of 14 hours, the STS-111 is designed to monitor enemy targets for up to two-and-a-half days before returning to base.
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17 Comments
Add CommentI get that it's made of inner gas-filled segments housed in a vented outer sleeve, but don't yet see why those don't puff up like a normal weather balloon as the air pressure drops when it ascends. Are the gases trapped in such tough envelopes that they simply maintain their size and shape regardless of altitude?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnother case of overly precise imperial to metric conversions. 3 048 meters == 10 000 feet, and 9.1 kg == 20 lbs. Come on, SciAm! Round those metric numbers to 3 000 m and 9 kg!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKind of a flying condom...now our enemies know they're gonna get screwed...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKroplin has been touting this floating pig since the mid-90's. He's now teamed up with some penny stock kings running a company called Globetel/Sanswire. Globetel showed off TAO's toys to the military back in 2005. The company recently tried to pump the SAS-51 which was actually an airship named Lotte that had been rented out for parades and advertising since the mid-90's by a company called Airship Technologies Gmbh. Sanswire/Globetel and their officers are dealing with numerous fraud charges by the SEC, IRS, and FBI.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFunny to see another author fall prey to the con.
Actually the price listed for the Gorgon is ONLY for the sensor, which is mounted underneath the unmanned aerial vehicle. (Assume that is a separate cost) It would be good if next time the article compared apples to apples!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKroplin has NOT been touting this since the mid-90's. TAO has pursued research and development of the segmented airship design, with approximately 20 models created and tested. The Sanswire-TAO partnership is set up to deliver a number of those models to the markets in North America. The STS-111 is the first of the segmented models to reach the final stage of development and ready for delivery. The 111 has a maximum height of 30K feet. The next segmented design, the STS-230, is still undergoing testing and development and is expected to be ready for delivery in late 2010.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNone of the current officers or directors of Sanswire are charged with anything by the SEC, FBI or IRS. Those officers who participated in the fraud of the past have been terminated and are facing separate charges by the SEC.
The IRS issue is not fraud, but a failure of the company to pay certain payroll taxes for a specific period of time in previous years. This was self identified by the company following the dismissal of these former officers, and the company has stated in financial reports that the company is working with the IRS to develop a repayment schedule.
No sure where you come up with the FBI investigation. This has never been mentioned in any news release or financial statement.
The company is a turn-around story. While it is on shaky ground financially, the product development continues. The recent demonstration in Stuttgart, Germany was requested by the parties who attended, so there is apparent interest in the current state of the airship development.
30K feet is less than airplane height. whats to stop a stinger from dropping em?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCheck your facts. Bernd Kroplin and Frank Epperlein started work on the AirChain/Strat around 1994. Work on the Lotte/SaS-51 began in 1991 and it has been rented out for several years now by Airship Technologies Gmbh for parades and special events. Kroplin was asking for 370 million euros back in 2003 while showing off the same paraglider and 23 meter prototype recently flown under the Sans/Tao banner. He claimed to need the funds to test that same prototype at 5000 meters altitude. The segmented and gas technologies touted actually came about during the development of the Graf Zeppelin in the early 1900's.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are numerous issues with the IRS. Some deal with the nonreported income company officers obtained from stock loan fraud and unreported insider sales through nominee entities. There is also the failure to pay 941 Employee Payroll taxes that they were obligated to withhold. This occurred after the indicted officers departed and Federal Tax Leins have been filed for pay periods well into 2009.
The FBI reference come from the indictments which comments on the, "investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
coastie as a well known basher on ihub and raginbull stock boards i would suggest you cover your short position before you end up broke,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscoastie, as a well known basher on ihub anb ragging bull I would suggest you cover your short position before you go broke.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow US army is at par with Al-Qaeda. Osama allegedly controlling WTC attack from a cave in Afghanistan. Now US army will do same thing. Pretty good copycat. American Nazis are good learners.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOld science,its been around for a 100 years,only thing new is GPS and other electronics.So why does it cost so much?It seems to me if every ground company had an eye in the sky,that there would no longer be ambushes,and troops could watch for IUD placements around the clock.So why isn't this being done?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA blimp at 30,000 feet or so would routinely be subject to 100+ knot winds. With an airspeed of at most a few 10's of knots a single pass over the target area (backwards) would be all this concept could achieve.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSuspect the cynics are spot on about this.
If you go to Sanswire's page you will read that their goal is not 30,000', but rather 60,000'. Because the wind currents are more stable at that altitude. That altitude would also give it a very long line of sight. It is not just a surveilance platform, it is also a communications relay for remote areas. They have also developed pattented precision air drop systems that enable items dropped by parachute to autonomously reach their target. This would be a great asset for re-supplying covert ops troops with night drops.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthe drones have been doing this for years... and its not just surveillance. Video game operators in the middle east and Nevada bomb targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are high civilian casualties, also known as "bug splat."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAre we not getting too hyper smart that we keep inventing all kinds of killer-machine and weapon to eliminate our fellow-beings?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDrones have been widely deployed to sort out terrorists and wipe them off, but simultaneously massacring the innocent too (albeit claimed to be unintentionally).
So much for our scientific achievement.
This being Scientific American, the topic here is the technology, not the stock price. How is the technology defective? Many are working on high altitude surveillance and/or communications relay craft, both lighter than air and solar powered airplanes. I rely on SciAm to discuss projects that have some credence, and this seems to fit that constraint.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisComments on killing civilians from drones are similarly irrelevant, since this device is neither intended for nor suited to such use. Are you just Googling "drone" for places to rant?
It is appropriate to discuss the morality of a given technology. But unless you think it's immoral to try to keep an eye on people who are trying to kill us, I fail to see what anyone's objection might be, unless they're mentally disordered and can't tell the difference between surveillance and shooting, or unless they're allied with Islamofascism in some way.
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