Stratospheric Airship — Sanswire Stratellite

There is coverage of a low stratosphere airship, the “Sanswire Stratellite” at Next Big Future. The airship, also known as the STS-111, will be tested next week, hopefully opening up a new era in high-altitude communications platforms. The airship will fly at 65,000 feet (12.3 miles) and integrates solar panels with wireless communication and sensor systems. According to the company, “Placing a communications platform into the stratosphere, in the form of an airship, has never been done before.” The current flight-endurance record for a UAV is just 30 hours — the company building the Sanswire Stratellite wants to develop a communications platform that can stay airborne for weeks or months at a time.