Replies to post #138937 on World Surveillance Group Inc (fka WSGI)

[be_real]

bankinonit, nilremerlin, 48 hours is a little bit disappointing. I guess it may be in line though with the fact that the size of it is only 20-30 ft.

And no, it's not flying by itself. It's clear now that the BIB is a tethered aerostat, always tethered. Always tethered.

There must be a mechanism to "recover" it from it's operational altitude. When they say "released from the vehicle", they mean, it's on top of the vehicle prior to release/launch, and then, it LEAVES the top of the vehicle and deploys to the operational altitude.

All JMHO

"The BIB system is released from the vehicle by an automated launch and recovery system to an operational low altitude appropriate for the application and can provide critical detection capabilities for several miles. Once deployed to the operational altitude, the vehicle can proceed on its mission through any terrain with the BIB system fully functional at altitude. Following completion of a mission, the BIB system is designed to quickly and automatically be recovered while the lifting gas is retained in the BIB self-contained helium storage system."