Yes, reactive polymers are HUGE and Kroeplin has some great cards to play here. Just wondering how much of this stuff makes it into the first model Airchain/AirDragon/SkySat. BTW. pesonal belief is that the Skysat is more Airchain than conventional airship....we'll see. pete
The Lift cells employ the same material NASA uses for its Long Duration Balloons. The bouyency controls are all computerized, employing electro-reactive "artificial muscle-like" polymer fibers which expand/contract in response to electric currents applied to them. Contraction would squeeze the lift cell, increasing internal pressure on the lift gas, making it denser and thus less bouyant; release would allow the gas to expand, becoming less dense and generating more lift. This would allow the craft to drop/gain altitude and correct for pitch and roll.
The perimeter and payload support frames are pre-stressed carbon fiber tubes. Employing sort of an isometric "stress/counter-stress" principle, the frame works like opposing elliptical "leaf" or cart springs to provide strength and rigidity with minimum material weight.
Motive power is provided by idependently fully pivoting electric ducted-fan motors, utilizing quiet, low-speed props optimized for extreme high-altitude performance and based on a design employed by NASA's Helios project.
ALPHA is an LTA/UAV, capable of automonous opertion and multi-function, multi-mission configuration, although recon/long duration surveillence is its primary design goal.
imawswami & eqbeck: Thanks for the excellent DD...I have some reading to catch up on regarding this tech. Now if they can additionally find a way to tap into zero-point energy with anti-gravitational effects, etc. (the Hutchinson effect) there's no limits in sight!
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