"Stratellites" To Fly Over Atlanta
You know how GPS works, right? A constellation of satellites in
orbit feeds information to your receiver and tells you exactly
where in the world you are at that moment.
That's sort of the same concept a company called Sanswire
Networks will test next week over Atlanta (GA) -- only it won't be
satellites in orbit. Instead, it'll be "stratellites" at lower
altitudes. And instead of providing GPS services, Sanswire
Networks' stratellites will provide wireless internet
connections.
Sanswire's network solution is even more similar to one by a
company called Space Data. It puts a network of wireless
transmitters and receivers on balloons that hover at altitudes of
80,000 to 100,000 feet.
Space Data began operations in April, providing wireless
internet services to oil and gas workers across a 400 square mile
area.
The Space Data airships are tiny. The company's website says,
"The Federal Aviation Association (FAA) allows SkySite Platforms to
be launched without restriction in domestic airspace because they
are sufficiently small and light not to pose any threat to aircraft
safety. The Space Data airships are tiny. The company's website
says, "The Federal Aviation Association (FAA) allows SkySite
Platforms to be launched without restriction in domestic airspace
because they are sufficiently small and light not to pose any
threat to aircraft safety."
Sanswire's Stratellites, however are a lot bigger and fly a lot
lower -- between 64,500 and 65,500 feet. "You get a better upload
at lower altitudes," said Sanswire's Chief Operating Officer, Brian
Keith. "We'll get about 300 kbps up and down during peak hours and
between three and four mbps during off-peak hours."
The solution appears to be an elegant one for areas where there
are no internet service providers working on fiber-optic cable
networks.
Sanswire is working with a company called Techsphere, which is
now testing a spherical airship designed for homeland security
sentry work. But because of the altitudes necessary for the
Sanswire stratellite concept, Keith said the spherical airship just
didn't work.
"We had to redesign the airship," he said. The new design is 245
feet long and 145 feet tall (see specs, below). It's much more
aerodynamic, Keith said, designed to hover at an altitude where
winds are most favorable.
The entire airship is designed to generate the power necessary
to keep it on station for a year and to run the wireless internet
equipment on board. "The entire skin is photovoltaic," Keith said.
"It's the same concept as the MIR space station. We can power
everything on board, including positioning and stabilization and
still have plenty of power left over."
The $5 million stratellites are designed to hover in place for a
year at a time, Keith said. After that, they'll be swapped out for
testing and upgrades. If one should stop functioning while still in
the air, Keith said, another would be available on six-hours'
notice. One stratellite can service 64,000 internet connections
(including local area networks).
Will It Interfere With Flight?
"We've been talking too a lot of military people," Keith told
ANN, when asked about the possibility that stratellites might
interfere with aircraft. "We can't see any major issues at that
height (64,500 - 65,500 ft.)."
What about RF interference? That issue is being handled by
German-based Skylan Technologies, Keith said. "There's no RF
interference horizontally or vertically to any aircraft," he
said.
The Sanswire concept is undergoing tests this week and next in
Atlanta, although the stratellite design itself hasn't flown yet.
There's no firm date for an aerial test -- Sanswire will have to
obtain an FAA permit before it can fly. Keith expects his company
will put one stratellite in the sky over Atlanta sometime this
summer.
Will balloon-based wi-fi ever catch on? Keith said his company
and its CEO, Mike Moley, have already received several offers for
their concept -- offers worth "millions" of dollars. "The turnkey
concept is in the range of about $10 million per airship," Keith
said. "That compares quite favorably to laying fiber optic, which
could cost billions. Fiber is a great technology, but it came along
a little too late, it's too expensive and it takes too long to
deploy."
Stratellite Specs
- Length: 245 feet
- Height: 145 feet
- Volume: 1.3 million cubic feet
- Dual envelopes, both made of Kevlar
- Powered by electric motors
- Outer envelope covered in film photovoltaic (solar) units
- Payload capacity: 3,000 pounds
- Maximum altitude: 70,000 feet
- Desired altitude: 65,000 feet
- Lifting gas consists of Helium and Nitrogen
- Held in position by 6 onboard GPS units connected to the
ship’s engines
- Line of site to a 300,000 square mile area
- Wireless capability (currently) to an area with a radius of 75
miles
- Controlled by earth stations on the ground
- Maximum duration: 18 months (a replacement ship will be in
position prior to bringing original ship down for retrofitting).
The original ship will return to its position after retrofitting.
Each airship is 100% reclaimable