It's An Airship Designed For Homeland Security Missions

It looks more like a very big volleyball than a blimp, but the designers of a spherical airship say it's the very latest in homeland security.

The six-story airship flew for three hours over southern Maryland Wednesday at altitudes of up to 10,000 feet. Built by Georgia-based Techsphere Systems International and integrated by Sierra Nevada Corporation, the round blimp has several advantages over its cigar-shaped predecessors, according to designer Hokan Colting.

"It's more maneuverable than a traditional airship," he said. "Cigar ships can only go to 6,000 feet." The airship he designed has flown to 22,000 feet, setting a world record. He was quoted by the Washington Post.

It can be tied down with mere rope, whereas a traditional blimp has to be moored to a mast. Standard blimps have to be assembled after they're shipped. The Techsphere model comes ready to fly, right out of the box.

"You can take it in the container and be flying in 24 hours," Colting told the Post.

The airship can fly for 48 hours straight, making it a prime candidate for unmanned sentry missions along America's coasts and borders, the company said. It's made of both Kevlar and Mylar, making it lightweight and tough at the same time.

While Wednesday's trials were manned by a two-person crew, company executives said an unmanned version should be ready for flight by mid-October.

FMI: www.techspheresystems.com