US Navy is Developing a Solar-powered Plane That Can Fly For 90 Days (newscientist.com) 43
New submitter tslinks7 writes: The US Navy is developing solar-powered aircraft to fly for 90 days at a time. The Skydweller aircraft could be used as a communications relay platform or a constant eye in the sky to escort surface ships. The testbed aircraft adds new software and upgraded hardware to Solar Impulse 2, a piloted solar aircraft that flew around the world in 2015-16. The new plane is made by US-Spanish aerospace firm Skydweller Aero. The company was awarded a $5 million contract to develop the aircraft.
Paywall? Details? (Score:5, Insightful)
While I applaud the engineering that went behind it, I would like to know what advantages does it have over Lighter than Air Aircraft. Like Blimps or Zeppelins. The articles before the paywall just gives some uses, that would seem to be more cheaply and better suited for a blimp to do.
LTA are at mercy of the wind (Score:3)
That's why they've gone nowhere. They're also enormous radar targets.
Re: (Score:3)
Re:Paywall? Details? (Score:4, Informative)
LTA disadvantages are maneuverability, speed, weather susceptibility, maintenance facilities, cost of operation and so on. Thing is that a light weight, 280 foot wingspan solar airplane does not seem to have any obvious performance advantages.
Found several articles about Skydweller but they are all fluff pieces with no real analysis or technical details.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Even the huge airships from the 1930s could keep up with any ship today. The Hindenburg class airships could go 70 knots.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Hydrogen is easy enough to produce but it is a highly flammable gas. The use of hydrogen in observation balloons is mentioned in this American history podcast about an American aviator, Frank Luke, that was known for his skill in bringing them down during World War One.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/... [apple.com]
I doubt the problem is the speed. If they used heliu
Re: (Score:1)
You do both at the same time. A flying wing, that you inflate with helium, solar panels on top. Engines don't need to do much work to get it airborne and it actual can carry a substantive cargo. Far stronger and more rigid design, good try, really bad layout. The better layout, inflatable flying wing, quite large, quite the payload. If you inflate it with hydrogen instead, you can do interesting things, burn hydrogen, crack water, make plane warm and cosy, no ice and go higher. There are many advanatages fo
Re: (Score:2)
Well this particular aircraft is large in volume, rather slow, with such a large wingspan it doesn't seem too maneuverable.
Dumb question here (Score:3)
But what can this plane do that existing satellites can't? It seems the selling point of being in the sky for extended periods of time, is the realm of satellites, especially given this doesn't seem to be designed for combat...
Re: (Score:3)
But what can this plane do that existing satellites can't? It seems the selling point of being in the sky for extended periods of time, is the realm of satellites, especially given this doesn't seem to be designed for combat...
These planes would be closer to the ground (i.e., different types of telemetry) and could be easily repositioned (i.e., in contrast to geostationary satellites).
There aren't a lot of details (at least in the non-paywalled first few paragraphs), but one question I have if why there is a 90-day limit? Is that for maintenance, or is that based on pre-charging batteries and having the battery finally totally deplete?
Re: (Score:1)
yeah. right.
these sorts of airframes aren't typically rugged enough for slow flight, much less rapidly moving to another position; and then what happens to the power levels when using it all for propulsion instead of the primary mission profile... hmm
Re: (Score:2)
but one question I have if why there is a 90-day limit?
One assumes this is the minimum required duration in order meet specifications. And 90 days is a reasonably good time when you consider the slow speed, limited launch sites, and time required to get into position. Another comment talked about naval operations. With 2 aircraft you could follow a fleet 24/7 while taking into account aircraft maintenance and the travel to / from a sufficiently large airfield. If the 90 day requirement was lowered then it might be difficult if the maintenance airfield was
Re: Dumb question here (Score:2)
The Spirit rover was also designed for a 90 day mission. Lasted over 6 years.
There is actually little an engineer could do differently for something designed for 90 days that they would not do for something designed for years. Only a vehicle with a mission length measured in hours or a few days at the most would be done differently.
Re: (Score:2)
Satellites are expensive to launch, and often when they are in orbit, that orbit cannot be changed for a changing environment. Say it was offering Wi-Fi to troops, the troops will be moving, while you will need to keep on launching more and more Satellites to keep up with the troop movement.
But Blimps I think could probably solve that problem for less money and longer time.
Re:Dumb question here (Score:5, Informative)
The obvious advantages are image resolution, latency, and local control, all of which are problematic with satellites. Same reasons they like AWACS
Dunno how it can be launched from a Naval platform given the wingspan (70m)
Another link: https://futurism.com/the-byte/... [futurism.com]
Search for "skydweller us navy" and you will get a ton of articles.
Re: (Score:2)
The bigger question is what can this plane do that you can't d
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah exactly. Dwell time for sure.
I stopped tagging articles when the first five were all the same puffy binspam crap. No details, no info about where this would fit operationally.
Re: (Score:2)
"But what can this plane do that existing satellites can't?"
Funnel even more public money towards companies like Boeing and Raytheon and Lockheed who then pay big bucks to mainstream news networks to advertise their products, while maintaining a healthy, sorry, profitable, paranoia about all kinds of enemies?
Re: (Score:3)
For example, take a look at the satellite images in this story [npr.org]. This shows how good our spy satellite images are.
Now imagine that the drone doesn't actually take pictures that are much if any better. It's still useful because it can circle the site and give you pictures from all angles. That'll make it much easier to interpret images. Opponents are now pretty aware of US satellite capabilities and may take steps to obscure things. That's harder when we've got 360 degree imagery.
Re: (Score:2)
Here is an example of drone footage for comparison.
https://musicaccoustic.com/mus... [musicaccoustic.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Also, satellites have known orbits and it's predictable when one will be overhead. That was one of the advantages of the SR-71, total surprise.
Re: (Score:2)
On top of all the other advantages listed a plane has the advantage that it can land, get an upgrade and then be launched again. A satellite can be upgraded but it involves launching another spacecraft and capturing the satellite. The upgrade would need to be done in space as well which isn't as easy as a land based upgrade.
Re: (Score:2)
They could use the Mission Modules from the Littoral Combat Ship. Just land in a port, load a different Mission Module and take off again.
Why do we need this... (Score:3)
How does it work? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Just fly due east at mach 1.3.
neat, but.... (Score:2)
World record for endurance is 60 days (Score:5, Informative)
Eventually the engines lost so much of power that after the last attempt it could not climb to its loiter altitude and was forced to land.
Citation Provided [coavmi.com]
Re: (Score:1)
A link to somebody's web site is not a "citation."
And please, no, we don't want any. This place if full of credulous morons. They need to learn how to seek out information from trusted sources, and to stop reading people's bullshit links.
Re: (Score:1)
A link to somebody's web site is not a "citation."
Yes it is. If you dispute this then how about a link to Wikipedia or some other web page that cites a news paper, book, TV broadcast or other trusted primary source? The link isn't to the web page as a source but to a webpage with multiple sources, it's just easier to link to the one page with all the sources than to try to copy/paste them all.
And please, no, we don't want any.
You don't speak for me. I recognize that the web is full of information that can be trusted. If you trust a newspaper for current events then why should everyone
Re: (Score:2)
Useful niche (Score:2)
Why? (Score:2)
navy plane? (Score:1)
Why is the navy developing a plane instead of a boat?
Shouldn't they leave planes up to somebody like the Air Force?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Why is the navy developing a plane instead of a boat?
Shouldn't they leave planes up to somebody like the Air Force?
Things like this have been debated forever. The 1947 law that created the US Air Force defined how aircraft roles were to be divided up. The Navy and USMC were allowed aircraft for the support of missions at sea. USAF took on most aircraft but the US Army was allowed helicopters and some fixed wing aircraft for support of movement of ground forces. I recall a video about the Sidewinder missile and the debate on which laboratory would lead the project. I don't recall the debate exactly but it was someth
Obvious Stupid Joke (Score:2)
US Navy is Developing a Solar-powered Plane That Can Fly For 90 Days
Unfortunately, it crashes at night.
I'll be here all week. Try the veal!