POBAL-S, The Analysis and Design of a High Altitude Airship

Abstract

An engineering analysis and development effort has been executed to design a superpressure airship, POBAL-S, capable of station keeping at an altitude of 21 kilometers for a duration of 7 days while supporting a payload weighing 890 newtons and requiring 500 watts of electrical power. A detailed parametric trade-off between various power sources and other design choices was performed. The computer program used to accomplish this analysis is described and many results are presented. The system concept which resulted was a fuel cell powered, propeller driven airship controlled by an on-board autopilot with basic commands telemetered from a ground control station. Design of the balloon, power train, gimbaled propeller assembly, and electronic/electrical systems is presented. Flight operations for launch and recovery are discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 15, 1975
Accession Number
ADA012292

Entities

People

  • Jack D. Beemer
  • Ladell R. Swiden
  • Loren L. Rueter
  • Paul A. Seuferer
  • Roger R. Parsons

Organizations

  • Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Brushless Dc Motors
  • Cells
  • Computer Programs
  • Control Systems
  • Electric Motors
  • Electric Power
  • Energy
  • Films
  • Flight Control Systems
  • Fuel Cells
  • Power Supplies
  • Propulsion Systems
  • Solar Panels
  • Storage Batteries
  • Transducers
  • Turbines

Fields of Study

  • Engineering
  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Test and Evaluation
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Fault Tolerant Diagnosis of Black and White Balloon Isolation Tests Using ¥.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems