An airship includes a capsule and an external structure attached to the capsule and extending vertically above an upper portion of the capsule. A plurality of gas balloons are secured to the external structure and hold a lighter-than-air lifting gas. The volume of lifting gas in the plurality of balloons is at least a sufficient volume to lift the airship into the stratosphere. The airship may also include a first boom and second boom that extend horizontally outward from a lower portion of the capsule. The booms each include a weight or cargo container at a far end to assist in balancing and stabilizing the airship. The number and/or the sizes of the gas balloons may be adjusted and configured to obtain the volume of lifting gas needed to lift the airship to a desired altitude above the Earth.
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A STRATOSPHERIC AIRCRAFT
2024-11-14
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
Atmospheric Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft
NTIS | 1993
|The atmospheric effects of stratospheric aircraft
NTRS | 1993
|