GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Under a US Missile Defence Agency programme to design a solar-powered high-altitude airship (HAA), Lockheed Martin is working with a US company that has developed a paper-thin photovoltaic skin that would cover the upper surface of the unmanned surveillance platform. Iowa Thin Film Technologies says the airship is a potential application of its Power Film products for solar-powered air and space vehicles.
Power Film modules are produced by depositing semiconductor devices on a lightweight, flexible polymer substrate. The process eliminates the unreliable manual connection of solar cells, and can reduce the cost of photovoltaics for air and space power by up to 90%, says the Ames, Iowa-based company.
Lockheed Martin is designing a prototype high-altitude airship for cruise missile detection, border security and coastal surveillance under a $40 million HAA contract that may lead to a first flight in mid-2006 (Flight International, 7-13 October).
Source: Flight International