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Domain: cargolifter.de

Stories and comments across the archive that link to cargolifter.de.

Comments · 6

  1. Re:Two Questions by SpinyManiac · · Score: 2, Informative · on Zeppelin Flies Again

    No, Cargolifter went bust.

    Zeppelin have been making heavy construction equipment for years.

  2. Stratospheric platforms by XNormal · · Score: 2 · on Teledesic Comes Down to Earth

    There is a lot of interest recently in stratosphereric platforms as an alternative to satellites, both heavier and lighter than air.

    Geostationary satellites are too far to support high data rates to mobile terminals and also suffer from high latency. LEO satellites require an entire constellation covering most of the Earth before there is continous coverage in any part of the Earth. This all-or-nothing property makes it a dangerous business proposition.

    Some links:
    StratSat
    CargoLifter and Boeing
    Yokosuka
    AeroVironment

  3. Germany�s two approaches: Zeppelin vs. Cargolifter by HeinzHarry · · Score: 3, Informative · on Zeppelins on Patrol?

    Here in Germany, we have two companies building Airships - both for different purposes. One of them is about to file for bankrupcy - just within the next couple of days. While Zeppelin seems to be doing quite well offering flights to the public and building highgly priced Zeppelin Z1, Cargolifter stopped developing their product, the C160 Airship - which was supposed to carry 160 tons of payload - just yesterday. If there is a need for a hangar in the US... there is one spare in Germany pretty soon i guess.

    Here are two links to these companies and to an article about cargolifter:

    Zeppelin Germany

    Cargolifter Germany

    Yahoo on Cargolifter

  4. Re:It's a *mini* Zeppelin by husemann · · Score: 1 · on Return of the Zeppelins

    Have a look at CargoLifter--- that'll be bigger than the Hindenburg. However, it's for cargo only. But still pretty impressive.

  5. Re:The thing about airships... by u.hertlein · · Score: 1 · on Ten Technologies That Shouldn't Have Died?
    They might never be great for shipping bricks

    But for moving massy, yet light things around quickly they might well prove to be big winners

    Well apparently the people at CargoLifter think differently. As was said in the original text they're planning on moving objects (bulky or not) of up to 160 tonnes weight, not exactly 'light'. They finished the hangar south of Berlin (quite a sight, 360m long, and over 100m high) recently and will soon start production...

  6. Re:Heavier than Air by Raffzahn · · Score: 1 · on NASA Tests Flying Scooter For Commercial Take-Off
    1. It's Hindenburg - the real reason was more that Germany was focusing on a soon to begin war - and airships don't make good warplanes anymore (BTW, Germany started already prior to the war scheduled Lufthansa flights Berlin NYC with Ju90 airplanes)
    2. I assume you're talking about the Akron class airships, a cloned German design using even Maybach engines (well in fact even the first rigid US airship, the Shenandoah was already a clone - they took all measurements from the crashed German WW1 airship L49). Althou US engeneers tried not only to add new features (The Akron class ships where in fact flying aircraft carriers), but also to improve the 'heavy and unnecessarily reinforced' German design.
    3. The two desasters, that took place in 1933 (Akron - in a realy severe stormfront) and 1935 (Macon) are eventualy a result thereof. So the USS Los Angeles (build in Germany as LZ 127) was the only non-crashing US rigid airship.
    4. The Navy proved ? Well, 3 doomed US ships vs. hundreds of working German units is like the infamous 'the world needs only a total of five computers ever' quote :)
    5. Zeppelins are coming back - well, not exactly, but there are two new design which are neither Blimps but also not complete frame Zeppelins.
      • First there is the Zeppelin NT (Yes, buils by air ship nerds from the very same company Graf Zeppelin founded) a small size airship (75m, 230ft, like a 747 :) with interior frame and doubble hull and swivelling propellers to allow start and landing in an independant way (read: no large ground crew needed anymore). The prototype unit LZ N07 (first flight 18.Sep.1997) can carry 14 Persons, making it one of the largest ships in existance - future Versions may have up to 40 passengers. The test programm is in the final steps for a general flight certificate of the German federal aviation agency (Bundesluftfahrtamt), to be issued during the next few month - serial production has already started.
      • Second there's the Cargolifter a huge (260m, 790ft) semi-rigid keel airship, ment as a flying special load truck, to propell things like power station equipent around the world. Able to lift 160 metric tons (size up to 50x8x8 m^3 / 150x25x25 ft^3). At the moment they have finished the 'workbench', a hall of 360x210x107m 120,000,000 ft^3, big enough for two ships (or 14 Boing 747 planes :). The first ship is to be finished in 2003, then 4 ships a year. Chargolifter is a FSE noted $250m company.
      you see, there's news to big airships - and big companies wouldn't invest their money if ist that useless.
    Gruss H.