Hybrid Airship
Abstract
In conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - Ames Research Center, the United States Air Force (USAF) Research Laboratory, and U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), the Department of Defense has developed a hybrid airship demonstration vehicle known as Pelican, which is a non-deployable technology demonstrator that integrates four independent technologies into a single, rigid aeroshell variable buoyancy (RAVB) air vehicle. The project will demonstrate the technical maturity of a scalable vertical takeoff and landing airship. Key technologies include a buoyancy management system to enable ballast-independent operations, composite lightweight rigid internal structure to reduce environmental restrictions, a responsive low-speed/hover control system with associated control algorithms, and a ground handling subsystem to enable operations on unimproved landing surfaces. The program objectives are to mitigate long-term technical risks by integrating and demonstrating a suite of technologies with the potential to reduce operational constraints on future heavy-lift hybrid, buoyant-aircraft development programs. In FY 2011, the project was reduced to a four-year program by accelerating the funding needed to complete vehicle design, analysis, subsystem prototyping/testing, systems integration, construction and ground testing. The project is scheduled to end in early Fiscal Year 2013, with a hangar demonstration of the four main project objectives.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2014
- Source ID
- 26bad0429bbff33d3a0788f025fc1592