NASA celebrated another success, a little closer to earth. The unmanned Helios aircraft soared to a height of 76, 000 feet on its first test flight.
Later this summer, Helios will be taken up to a height of 100, 000 feet, which is three times as high as commercial airliners fly. Helios is solar powered with 62, 000 individual solar cells. In flight, it's in continual daylight because it's high above the clouds. Future versions of the plane will carry rechargeable fuel cells, which should allow it to stay in the air indefinitely. If the remaining tests are a success, Helios could be used for long-term monitoring of the earth, or even as a mobile telecommunications station, providing the same services as a communications satellite, but at a fraction of the cost."
This comes off of www.exn.ca and aired on the discovery channel. It may not be unmeetered, but it will be cheaper.
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"Solar-powered plane passes flight test
NASA celebrated another success, a little closer to earth. The unmanned Helios aircraft soared to a height of 76, 000 feet on its first test flight.
Later this summer, Helios will be taken up to a height of 100, 000 feet, which is three times as high as commercial airliners fly. Helios is solar powered with 62, 000 individual solar cells. In flight, it's in continual daylight because it's high above the clouds. Future versions of the plane will carry rechargeable fuel cells, which should allow it to stay in the air indefinitely. If the remaining tests are a success, Helios could be used for long-term monitoring of the earth, or even as a mobile telecommunications station, providing the same services as a communications satellite, but at a fraction of the cost."
This comes off of www.exn.ca and aired on the discovery channel. It may not be unmeetered, but it will be cheaper.