Systems and Methods for Long Endurance Airship Operations
First Claim
1. A long endurance airship system comprising:
- a payload airship; and
a first logistics airship mechanically joined to the payload airship to form a first combined airship, the payload airship and the logistics airship having design capabilities differing by at least a factor of two with regard to at least one of;
power generation capability, propulsion capability, endurance capability, and lift capability;
in which the first combined airship is free flying, lighter-than-air and configured to remain aloft for greater than 30 days without physical connection to the ground.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one example, a long endurance airship system includes a payload airship and a first logistics airship mechanically joined to the payload airship to form a first combined airship, the payload airship and the logistics airship having design capabilities differing by at least a factor of two with regard to at least one of: power generation capability, propulsion capability, endurance capability, and lift capability, in which the first combined airship is free flying, lighter-than-air, and configured to maintain aloft for greater than 30 days without physical connection to the ground. Illustrative methods for long endurance airship operations are also provided.
107 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A long endurance airship system comprising:
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a payload airship; and a first logistics airship mechanically joined to the payload airship to form a first combined airship, the payload airship and the logistics airship having design capabilities differing by at least a factor of two with regard to at least one of;
power generation capability, propulsion capability, endurance capability, and lift capability;in which the first combined airship is free flying, lighter-than-air and configured to remain aloft for greater than 30 days without physical connection to the ground. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A free-flying, lighter-than-air, combined airship comprising:
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a lower airship; an upper airship; and a tether connecting the lower airship and the upper airship; in which; the upper airship is configured to be equiliberally buoyant, while carrying the tether, in a first altitude range; and the lower airship is configured to be equiliberally buoyant in a second altitude range while carrying a payload, the first altitude range being higher than the second altitude range, such that the upper airship is at least one kilometer above the lower airship and the tether mechanically transmits drag forces and lift forces between the airships. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for providing aeronautical operations with a free-flying lighter-than-air, combined airship, the method comprising:
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monitoring available resource reserves of at least one of;
fuel, lifting gas, or stored energy capacity of the combined airship while the combined airship is airborne, wherein the combined airship comprises at least two airships, wherein at least one airship is adapted to mate and demate from at least one other airship while in flight and wherein capabilities of the combined airship with regard to achievable thrust, achievable lift, and achievable drag, in various meteorological conditions, are known within uncertainty limits;forecasting future meteorological conditions along a projected route of the combined airship; determining if the available resource reserves and capabilities of the combined airship are sufficient for operation along the projected route over a planning period during the forecasted meteorological conditions; if the available resource reserves and capabilities of the combined airship are not sufficient to operate along the projected route over the planning period, launching a relief logistics airship to provide additional resources, the additional resources comprising at least one of;
additional thrust capability, additional fuel, additional lifting gas, additional stored energy, additional energy capacity, or additional electrical power; andperforming rendezvous and reconfiguring the combined airship to include resources from the relief logistics airship such that the reconfigured combined airship has additional resources and capabilities for operation along the projected route. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of providing logistics support to at least one free-flying payload-carrying airship with endurance greater than 30 days, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of logistics airships that are adapted to provide logistics support to the at least one free-flying payload-carrying airship, and dispatching at least one of said logistics airships to the at least one free-flying payload-carrying airship to provide logistics support. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification