There is nothing said that it is tethered. I would assume that in order to go to the stratosphere it has to be untethered LOL. Did it occur to anyone here that news are released as they develop? I'm a little tired of all the conspiracy theories.
I was greatly disappointed in the limited data today's PR re: "float" test success. I asked Rocky today what the diff was in floating S1 back in May, 2005 and S2 now--almost a yr later and he replied:
"Sanswire 1 is not the same as Sanswire 2. Here is a review of changes made."
"On the technological front, we have been the fortunate beneficiaries of a range of new developments - some derived from our in-house testing activities and others acquired from the scientific community at large. These advancements in technology have allowed us to re-think and to materially enhance our design and testing program. In particular, as we have completed a variety of low-altitude, tethered float tests using our Sanswire One Airship, a number of useful improvements have been identified. This, in concert with our extensive testing, has provided several generational leaps in the materials technology and composition elements of our prototype. Of significant importance, given the weight-to-lift ratios which are fundamental to the operational physics of our Airship, we recently embraced the development of a new, very-light-weight, carbon-fiber, composite material which will allow us to construct current and future airships in a way, and at a pace, which will substantially reduce our time-to-market, while dramatically improving our operating efficiencies. This composite construction will allow for greater platform strength, durability and payload capacities. This new carbon-fiber infrastructure will reduce our operational weight by approximately 50% (thereby increasing the payload capabilities) and, ultimately, it will reduce the assembly time by a similar amount. When combining this new very-light-weight, high tensile strength, rigid frame design with the new battery and fuel cell technologies which have emerged in recent months (which will also result in dramatic improvements in power-capacity-to-weight ratios), we have concluded that the optimal strategy for getting our first commercial vehicle to market, as quickly as possible, is to immediately leap-frog from Sanswire One to Sanswire Two. This focuses all our energies, all the expertise which we have gained to date and all our resources, both financial and human, on efforts which have a clear and immediate pay-off. Sanswire Two has allowed us to "funnel" everything we have learned from Sanswire One into a timetable which will put our first commercial vehicle in the stratosphere much earlier than we had previously expected." http://rockyinfo.com/message_board1.htm
Would be nice if GTE supplied more facts in their PR today--getting tired of the endless conjecture their ommissions evoke.
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