New Airship May Offer Cost-Effective Satellite Services

The city-level Cloud space information platform ascends at Dongguan Eco Park. (Photo courtesy of KuangChi Science.)

The “Cloud” is KuangChi Science’s innovative airship capable of providing services such as communications, Internet access and big-data collection and analysis.

The Cloud offers similar functionality to structures like super tall communication towers and low-orbiting satellites. The physical design resembles a blimp, or the Tethered Aerostat Radar System, which is an existing balloon-borne radar system used by the U.S. Army.

The Tethered Aerostat Radar System.

The Cloud platform is connected to the ground and a data processing center via a cable. It uses helium to stay airborne and takes roughly three hours to completely inflate.

In a test flight, the Cloud rose close to 985 feet (300 meters) above the ground, though it is capable of reaching 6,561 feet (2,000 meters). The height it achieves depends on the payload, which can weigh up to a maximum of 881 pounds (400 kilograms). The Cloud measures 157 feet (48 meters) long and roughly 65 feet (20 meters) high.

The Cloud’s Wi-Fi signal achieves up to 18 miles (30 kilometers) of coverage, and when combined with ground relays it can reach 1,158 square miles (3,000 square kilometers).

The airship is capable of carrying multiple payloads; for instance, a wireless base station, Super Wi-Fi equipment and television or radio transmitters.

KuangChi Science sees their Cloud system being used to provide services for many different industries, including:

· Telecommunications

· Urban Planning and Management

· Air Pollution Monitoring

· Maritime Surveillance

· Search and Rescue

· Geographical Surveying

· Traffic Monitoring

· Wildfire Monitoring

· Natural Disasters

The design offers protection against hazards like lightning, pressure and temperature changes, and it can withstand 44 mph (70 kph) winds while in flight.

KuangChi Science promises the Cloud to be safe, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. The platform is currently stationed at the Dongguan Eco Park in Guangdong, China.

The key technology and equipment used in the Cloud is also used in the Cloud mini, a smaller version that can be used in emergencies.

After a landslide in Guangming, Shenzhen, the Cloud mini helped to save a man’s life. The multi-functional, high-resolution monitors located buried buildings, kept excavation records and identified 22 locations for further excavation during the crisis.

Previously, KuangChi Science debuted the fully-operational Martin Jetpack. Read more about it here.

For more information, visit KuangChi Science’s website.