Thales Group Offers Update On Half-Drone/Half-Satellite Technology
During the 2014 Thales’ Innovation Days, the Stratobus concept was introduced, and generated a lot of buzz on the Net and social networks as well as more traditional media.
It has been compared to other concepts, from zeppelins and drones to Google’s Loon balloons. But in fact, Thales said Stratobus is neither a drone nor a satellite, but a stratospheric airship that combines the best of both worlds. The program was officially launched in April 2016.
Jean-Philippe Chessel, Director of the StratobusT product line at Thales Alenia Space, says Stratobus is an autonomous, multi-mission stratospheric airship, midway between a drone and a satellite. Marking a real break with existing systems, Stratobus is considered part of the HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo Satellite) family. It is mainly intended for local missions, and is a perfect fit with conventional satellite systems. Stratobus operates at an altitude of 20 kilometers (above the jet stream and air traffic) and is designed for a wide range of civil or military regional applications: telecommunications, navigation, observation (especially surveillance), etc.
"Stratobus could be used for surveillance missions, including land, maritime, oil platforms, piracy at sea, etc. It is also highly suited to environmental monitoring missions. For observation missions, Stratobus can carry both radar and optical imaging payloads, which gives it continuous surveillance capability, day or night and under all weather conditions. For military applications, Stratobus can be displaced as theaters of operation move," Chessel said. "It would also be very useful in the telecommunications market, to provide 4G and 5G connectivity in the future. Its position in the stratosphere at an altitude of 20 kilometers (approx. 12.5 miles) is an optimal position for 5G, which demands very short latency, of just a few milliseconds. Concerning navigation applications, it would strengthen the AIS [Automatic Identification System] network in heavy traffic zones, thus improving traffic control. In other words, Stratobus is really a multidisciplinary solution for local missions out to
a terrestrial horizon of up to 500 kilometers!
"Stratobus will weigh nearly seven metric tons and measure 115 meters long and 34 meters in diameter at the widest point.
The program kicked off officially on April 26, 2016. Along with funding partners CGI/Bpifrance [organizations supporting French Investment in the Future programs], we have three major program milestones. The first is the SRR, or System Readiness Review, which aims to consolidate the concept’s specifications. We passed the SRR in December 2016. The next phase, the PDR [Preliminary Design Review] will take place in mid-2017, resulting in a concept that meets the defined specifications. It will be followed in 2018 by the CDR [Critical Design Review], which provides a detailed definition so we can launch the actual production.
"One important point is that, following the first phase, we decided to make several changes to Stratobus in order to consolidate the project. For instance, the internal solar concentrator as initially designed will now be placed outside, on top of the airship," Chessel said. "Secondly, the original transparent envelope will become opaque. These two changes will help definitely eradicate the effects linked to heating, expansion, etc. By raising the technology readiness level, we increase our chances of bringing Stratobus to market in 2020 or 2021.
Towards 2020, Stratobus will be able to carry existing payloads that have been adapted to the platform, such as the Radar Search Master from Thales. At the same time, the program is studying the possibility of integrating payloads purpose-designed for Stratobus, but the associated development and manufacturing cycles are longer. This second wave of development would lead to a market entry towards 2025.
The production base in Istres, southern France, could build the Prototype Flight Model (PFM), Chessel said. Other production facilities could be set up near operational headquarters for customers who are interested in the development of this new technology.
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