Unmanned aerial vehicle "Solara" capable of flying for 5 consecutive years with the alias "atmospheric satellite"

Turning propeller with electricity made with solar panel, it is possible to fly without altimeter for 5 years from 60,000 to 70,000 feet (about 18,000 meters to 21,000 meters), while being an aircraft with propellers and wings An unmanned aircraft called "Atmospheric Satellite"SolaraThe development of "is progressing.

Titan Aerospace - Solar Atmospheric Satellites
http://titanaerospace.com/


"Solara 50", which is under development, has a total length of 15.5 m, a blade length of about 50 m, and its own weight is only 159 kg. You can continue to fly a distance of up to 4.5 million km at cruising speed of about 100 km / h.


Development based in New Mexico, USATitan AerospaceIt is being promoted by the company, data accumulated in "Solara 10" for experiments so far will be reflected in "Solara 50" and its "Solara 60" which will be its upper machine. Since it is possible to mount up to 32 kg of equipment on the aircraft, it is possible to have various uses such as observation and survey activities.


About 3000 solar panels attached to the upper surface of the wing have a generating capacity of 7 kilowatts. Rotating the propeller with the generated electric power, the surplus electricity is stored in the lithium ion battery installed inside the wing, and it is possible to fly even during the night when the sun does not come out.


The merit of Solara is its low cost. With an artificial satellite, billions of yen by launch alone, a huge manpower and expenses for subsequent operation, and aircraft costs a lot of money for fuel, labor costs, maintenance, etc., Sorala needs unmanned flight / no fuel · It has a low cost of 5 years continuous operation, and the price of the aircraft is scheduled to be kept below 2 million dollars (about 200 million yen), so it is possible to reduce the cost cheaply.


Here is a movie that summarizes the image of Solara. You can also see how to use catapult during takeoff. However, because it does not have a landing gear such as a wheel, we decided to land the fuselage when returning. For that reason, the bottom of the aircraft is said to be reinforced with Kepler fiber.

Titan Aerospace, Solara 50 - YouTube


For Solara, which combines the features of satellites and planes and can be operated at low cost, it is proposed to use in the following areas.

◆ Industry · Science
Investigation of atmospheric conditions
Planetary Radiation Survey
Crop cultivation management
Weather survey such as temperature, geomagnetism, ocean temperature
Population movement monitoring

◆ Law enforcement and monitoring
Measures against piracy
Drug crime monitoring
Border surveillance
Law enforcement management
Human rights protection

◆ Map · Communication
Global positioning using GPS
Live mapping
Wireless relay station
Audio / data communication relay station

◆ Disaster countermeasures
Survey on current situation such as large scale fire, earthquake, flood

Solara who is approaching practical stage has two reservations at the moment, and there are many other inquiries in addition to that. Roll out (machine completion) is scheduled for 2014, and commercial use is expected to start in 2015. Although Solara can be used for various purposes as described above, names of CIA, NGA (National Geospatial Information Agency), NRO (National National Reconnaissance Bureau), etc. are also listed as inquiries,Spy acts by state powerThere seems to be some aspects that you should carefully watch over in the situation where it became clear.