The Odysseus is a solar,

High-Altitude Long Endurance Atmospheric satellite (United States usage, abbreviated atmosat) or pseudo-satellite (British usage) is a marketing term for an aircraft that operates in the atmosphere at high altitudes for extended periods of time, in order to provide servic ...

drone developed by

Aurora Flight Sciences Aurora Flight Sciences is an American aviation and aeronautics research subsidiary of Boeing which primarily specializes in the design and construction of special-purpose Unmanned aerial vehicles. Aurora has been established for 20+ years and th ...

Development

announced the Odysseus in November 2018. In spring 2019, Aurora planned to fly a

drone powered by solar cells and batteries, Odysseus, to study the

Earth atmosphere The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

or as a military pseudo-satellite for

intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...

. The 74.1m (243ft) wide

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

aircraft should weigh less than a

Smart Car Smart (stylized as smart) is a German automotive marque. Smart Automobile Co., Ltd. is a joint venture established by Mercedes-Benz AG and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2019 and aimed at producing Smart-badged cars in China to be marketed gl ...

, can carry a 25kg (55lb) payload with 250W provided during several months of endurance. It would compete with the

Airbus Zephyr The Airbus Zephyr is a series of lightweight solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The latest model is a high-altitude platform station capable of flying at for months at a time without fueling. It has a wingspan of and weighs . Deve ...

ordered by the

UK Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...

and visited by the U.S. Army Futures Command, the BAE Systems- Prismatic Ltd UAV, and the AeroVironment-

SoftBank is a Japanese multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo which focuses on investment management. The Group primarily invests in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial sectors. It also runs the Vi ...

telecommunications UAV. The bendable wing has

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

upper skin panels and plastic film undersides, three tails and six propellers, with roll controlled by the outboard tails. It used available, low-risk,

lithium polymer batteries A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electro ...

and gallium arsenide

thin-film solar cell A thin-film solar cell is a second generation solar cell that is made by depositing one or more thin layers, or thin film (TF) of photovoltaic material on a substrate, such as glass, plastic or metal. Thin-film solar cells are commercially use ...

s and first test flights were to be powered by batteries only. It was designed to stay day and night above up to three months at latitudes up to 20°. First flight was planned for April 2019 in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, before investigating ozone depletion in the summer over the

US Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. Its first flight was indefinitely delayed by July 2019.

References

External links

* * * * {{cite news , url= http://aviationweek.com/future-aerospace/closer-look-aurora-s-solar-stratospheric-odysseus , title= A Closer Look At Aurora’s Solar Stratospheric Odysseus , date= Nov 22, 2018 , author= Graham Warwick , work= Aviation Week & Space Technology Unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States Aurora Flight Sciences aircraft electric aircraft

Development

See also

References

External links