The spiral development schedule maps out the actions and time required to develop and produce patented multi-segmented cell airships, and allows for including an escalating range of new capabilities into the medium altitude UAV development process. With each stage a development project in its own right and a subset of the final system, Sanswire-TAO will reduce risk factors, time and expenses related to planning successive stages by evaluating progress in the prior stages. The spiral development schedule kicks off with the production of the STS-111, a 34-meter long, autonomously controlled, rapidly deployed, non-rigid, mid-altitude, medium endurance multi-segmented airship leading into the development and production of the STS-230, a 70-meter long, autonomously controlled, rapidly deployed, non-rigid, medium to high altitude multi-segmented airship that is designed to operate for extended durations at higher altitudes through the use of a proprietary propulsion system. The concepts leading to the spiral development program are a result of more than 15 years of research and development in Lighter Than Air (LTA) technologies and renewable energy and fuel powered prototypes of various sizes, shapes and design criteria.
The viability of the Sanswire-TAO process model was validated in the September 2008 Army Science Board report Platforms for Persistent Communications, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. The report stated, “Medium and High Altitude LTA airships (untethered) total scores were about equal to or better than UAVs at comparable altitudes for Persistent CSR (Communications, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) because of reconfigurability, time on station, payload size and flying hour costs for medium altitude and time on station, support infrastructure and flying hour costs for high altitude. Medium altitude LTA airships offer promising capabilities for CSR in the near term due to rapidly maturing capabilities based on a number of factors including time on station, all weather capability, flying hour cost and vulnerability. As a result, High altitude LTA and UAV platforms permit offload of communication traffic from high cost commercial satellites and future military satellites (e.g. TSAT). The maturation and potential payoff of LTA technology warrants further investment in experimentation and potential acquisition because of persistence on station.”
Sanswire-TAO’s approach and the defined 2009 spiral development program provides a systematic approach to address both the technological challenges of increasing altitudes, payload weights and enhancing durations while advancing the systems and technologies utilized for the specific commercial and government needs for persistent, medium duration, mid-altitude airships to support homeland and border security or other operational applications.
