Giant Solar-Powered UAVs Are Atmospheric Satellites

via IEEE Spectrum

It functions a bit like a satellite, except substantially cheaper and much more versatile.

The largest robot in the AUVSI expo hall last week belonged to Titan Aerospace. It was a model of their Solara 50 robotic atmospheric satellite, and they had to chop off the tail and most of the wings to get it to fit. The Solara is intended to lift a payload to 20,000 meters and then keep it there for five years, running entirely on solar power. It functions a bit like a satellite, except substantially cheaper and much more versatile. And, you can get it back when you’re done.

It’s a little bit hard to tell from the video, but these UAVs are big. The Solara 50 is 15 meters long with a wingspan of 50 meters, and there’s an even larger one called the Solara 60, with a 60-meter wingspan. Despite its size, the Solara 50 only weighs 160 kilograms, and it can carry a 30 kg payload, which is fairly respectable.

What makes the Solara actually functional as an atmospheric satellite are two things. The first is the altitude that it’s designed to fly at: at 20,000 meters, you’re above pretty much everything. You’re looking down on clouds and weather, and the winds and temperatures are generally very stable, or at least predictable. Being that high also gives you a field of view encompassing about 45,000 square kilometers. If you were to, say, mount a cellular base station on a Solara, it would take over for a hundred cell towers on the ground.

The second thing that makes Solara work is that it’s solar powered. Every available surface on the wings and tail are covered in solar panels, and there are batteries inside the wings. During the day, Solara generates kilowatts of power, and there’s enough left over in the batteries to provide hundreds of watts all night.

The Latest Bing News on:

Solar-Powered UAV

Drones are scaled up to fight wild dogs in Western Australia
on January 8, 2023 at 9:30 pm
A MULTI-TASKING drone with a payload capacity of 100 kilograms is being developed to manage wild dogs and feral animals in Western Australia’s southern rangelands...Read More ...
Percepto approved to deploy highly automated Beyond Visual Line of Sight drones for remote operations at record-breaking altitude
on January 6, 2023 at 5:30 pm
First-of-its-kind FAA permission enables unmanned drone-in-a-box operations 200 feet above ground level without a pilot or visual observer on site. AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ ...
Drone program takes off next fall at Tolles
on January 6, 2023 at 11:25 am
Dublin and Hilliard high schoolers planning to graduate in 2024 can have the opportunity next fall to earn a professional drone license through a new half-day program being launched at Tolles Career & ...
CES 2023 Liveblog: 80+ Amazing and Strange Things We've Seen
on January 6, 2023 at 8:07 am
From piano drones to twisty laptops, innovative oddities continue to pile up in the third day of the Consumer Electronics Show.
Mobile hydrogen station announced by H3 Dynamics for H2 drones and UAVs
on January 6, 2023 at 7:27 am
The solution provides access to hydrogen in remote locations. The global launch of the H2FIELD mobile hydrogen station was recently announced by H3 Dynamics, a ...
Using Camera-Equipped Drones in Solar Panel Inspection
on January 4, 2023 at 4:08 am
A solar-powered future is dependent on the smooth operation of solar panels, something that could benefit from the use of thermal camera-equipped drones.
Epazz, Inc.’s (OTC: EPAZ) BoxesOS™v. 3.0 Software Uses Drones And Blockchain To Help Farmers Improve Crop Yields, Agriculture Revenue
on January 3, 2023 at 2:04 am
Epazz, Inc.’s (OTC: EPAZ) proprietary software BoxesOS™v. 3.0 applies drone and blockchain technology to help farmers raise crop yields and predict future crop production. This in turn means greater ...
â€˜Drones, Solar Technology, Panacea to Health, Agriculture Sectors Challengesâ€™
on December 31, 2022 at 4:00 pm
A group of panellists comprising experts in drone and solar technologies ... Foundation sponsored a similar event in the U.K, titled, Drones: The Next Game-changer for Development Aid?
Solar power can offer a superior alternative to nuclear fission for generating oxygen on the moon
on December 31, 2022 at 7:57 am
NASA's unmanned Artemis mission to the moon was a small step toward the ultimate goal of sending humans to Mars and beyond. Now, a professor has come up with a safer plan to produce oxygen on the ...
Israeli pens plan for belt of solar panels on moon to power oxygen production
on December 31, 2022 at 5:59 am
NASA’s unmanned Artemis mission to the moon last ... and generating the energy to power that process. NASA and the US Energy Department are working to advance space nuclear technologies ...

The Latest Google Headlines on:

Solar-Powered UAV

[google_news title=”” keyword=”Solar-Powered UAV” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]

The Latest Bing News on:

Atmospheric satellites

An Old Satellite NASA Sent Into Space in the '80s is Falling From Sky This Weekend
on January 8, 2023 at 9:47 am
The space agency says the chance of wreckage falling on anybody is "very low," although some pieces are expected to survive after most of it burns up upon reentry.
NASA’s Retired Radiation Budget Satellite Expected To Crash Land On Earth Soon
on January 8, 2023 at 9:16 am
NASA's retired Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere after nearly four decades in space.
Retired NASA Satellite Crashing Back to Earth Today
on January 8, 2023 at 7:47 am
The 5,400-pound Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) is predicted to re-enter the atmosphere at approximately 6:40 p.m. EST today, give or take 17 hours.
Fiery Destruction Expected: NASA Earth Radiation Budget Satellite To Reenter Atmosphere Today
on January 8, 2023 at 3:43 am
NASA’s retired Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere after almost four decades in space. For 21 of those years, the ERBS actively investigated how the Earth ...
Old NASA satellite predicted to reenter the atmosphere tomorrow
on January 7, 2023 at 12:05 pm
Most of a NASA satellite reentering the atmosphere tomorrow is expected to burn up and pose minimal risk, but some debris could reach the surface.
Decades-old NASA satellite due to re-enter atmosphere, low threat
on January 6, 2023 at 8:29 pm
Most of the 2,450kg (5,400lb) satellite will burn up in atmosphere but some pieces are expected to survive re-entry.
A Satellite Deployed By Sally Ride Will Re-enter Earth’s Atmosphere Soon
on January 6, 2023 at 7:41 pm
A satellite deployed 38 years ago by Sally Ride will return to Earth soon. According to a status report issued by NASA: “The Department of Defense has predicted that NASA’s retired Earth Radiation ...
Satellites watch atmospheric river continue to drench California
on January 6, 2023 at 12:31 pm
Atmospheric rivers usually deliver up to 50% of California's annual precipitation. More rain is on its way to an already drenched California as forecasters observe two new "atmospheric rivers" form ...
The atmospheric river hitting California as seen from space: How to interpret it
on January 4, 2023 at 8:01 pm
The atmospheric river in this satellite image will sag southward toward the Los Angeles area on Thursday. Rainfall rates are expected to peak between 0.5 and 1.0 inches per hour in most areas.
Satellites watch 'atmospheric river' bring extreme rain to California (photos)
on January 4, 2023 at 11:05 am
Related: Europe warming twice as fast as rest of the world, new report reveals Satellites of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are monitoring the weather system ...