fivebyfive
join:2006-11-26
Morgan Hill, CA
 ·EarthLink
| Myasishchev M-55 only good for short durations
Although the Myasishchev M-55 can fly at over 65,000 ft, it has an endurance of only 5-6 hours aloft. That might be extended a bit if it could be rigged for remote control, saving the weight of the pilot, but it still isn't practical for round-the-clock coverage. A better solution may be a solar powered craft circling at 100,000 to 120,000 ft, recharging its batteries during the day to operate electric propulsion and transponders during the night. At that altitude, clear air is guaranteed every day, so there wouldn't be any problem using solar cells. Also, it would be over 20 miles up, too far to use 802.11x WiFi, so another scheme would have to be used for networking, such as WiMAX.
NASA was testing such an aircraft, called Pathfinder, around 2000-2001. See »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Pathfinder |
