Hybrid Airship
Abstract
In 2008, the Department undertook an airship project called “Pelican”; with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center providing technical and contractual oversight. Pelican served as a non-deployable technology demonstrator that integrated several innovative technologies into a rigid aeroshell, variable buoyancy (RAVB) air vehicle. The project’s goal was to mitigate long-term technical risks by integrating and demonstrating a suite of technologies with the potential to assist the development of future heavy-lift, airship programs. The technology may enable the development of a nascent class of air vehicle which will reduce the energy use per ton-mile of airlift operations, permit high-payload operations directly into and out of austere regions with little infrastructure and enable long-endurance manned or unmanned air operations. The key technologies demonstrated include: a buoyancy control system called Control of Static Heaviness (COSH), a rigid, lightweight-composite internal structure, a low-speed/hover control system and ground handling capabilities that allow operations without a traditional airship’s ground handling crew. This project and its inherent technical progress were also monitored by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and United States Transportation Command.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2015
- Source ID
- 576fa17eba3578d38e2bba6fa99495a9