ZEPHYR: Focus of an Aircraft, Endurance like a SatelliteHigh Altitude Pseudo Satellite
(Room 283-285)
02 May 16
2:30 PM
-
3:00 PM
Tracks:
Air, Commercial, Defense, Research and Development, Technical Track: Unmanned Applications Research
ZEPHYR - Focus of an Aircraft, Endurance like a Satellite High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) – Cost effective and gap filling technology for numerous applications Satellites are excellent at providing reliable, global services both for communications using Geo-stationary satellites and for remote sensing using a spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit. The GEO comsats provide persistent services but the large distance to the satellites (36,000km) means that some areas require augmentation of bandwidth. The LEO remote sensing satellites in return orbit the Earth every 90 minutes meaning that any one area can only be imaged frequently, but not persistently. And on top of this, both technologies require a significant financial investment only some few countries in the world can afford. Based on the HAPS technology, Airbus Defence and Space has developed ZEPHYR, that can provide local, persistent services that perfectly complement both these satellite based services at affordable cost. It can stay in one location for months and providing continuous imagery or ensuring that a critical event is captured or when a specific region requires greater bandwidth or services not readily available from satellite ZEPHYR can provide this. Running exclusively on solar power and flying above the weather at around 70,000 ft, hence above conventional air traffic, Zephyr fills a capability gap between satellites and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Zephyr is ideally suited for "affordable local persistence". This means that Zephyr has the ability to stay focused on a specific area of interest (which can be hundreds of miles wide) while providing it with satellite-like communications and Earth observation services over long periods of time without interruption. Therefore, ZEPHYR is capable to fill the gap between satellites and fuel-powered aircraft providing affordable, persistent, local satellite-like services for e.g. as in-theatre C4ISTAR relay, for maritime surveillance, border patrol, missile detection, navigation and many more. ZEPHYR: enduring like a satellite, focused like an aircraft and cheaper than both of them.