HiSentinel80: Flight of a High Altitude Airship

The first flight of the HiSentinel80, an unmanned high altitude airship, completed a successful test Nov. 10, 2010; launching from Page, Arizona, and tracked northeast toward Utah and Colorado. The payload, part of a U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command program, was recovered north of Monticello, Utah, on Nov. 11. The purpose of the test flight was to obtain performance data on the high altitude airship, as well as test various payload capabilities. The objective of the test was to demonstrate engineering feasibility and potential military utility of high altitude systems for persistent payload operations. The HiSentinel80 was aloft for eight hours at an altitude of 66,300 feet collecting valuable command and control and payload connectivity data before flight termination. The Prime Contractor for the HiSentinel effort is Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the sub-contractor is Aerostar International, Inc. The team of SwRI and Aerostar launched and recovered the airship. SwRI designed the airship and provided the telemetry, flight control, power, and propulsion systems. Aerostar fabricated the hull and supported in the integration and test flight. The SwRI/Aerostar Team developed the launch system, provided facilities, and launched and recovered the airship. The HiSentinel system is capable of lifting small to medium payloads (20–200 pounds) to high altitudes (>60,000 feet) for a duration of 30 days or greater. HiSentinel80 is 207 feet long and 45 feet in diameter and is designed to cruise at an altitude of 65,000 feet, well above commercial airspace. The HiSentinel80 airship is designed to launch similar to a weather balloon, taking the familiar airship shape as the vehicle reaches its mission altitude. At mission completion, the payload is released from the hull and returns to the ground by parachute and can be refurbished. The hull, or vehicle body, is made of low-cost disposable material designed not to be recovered after a mission. For the purpose of this flight demonstration, the airship hull was recovered for inspection south of Grand Junction, Colorado. This paper will include a technical overview of the HiSentinel80 airship development. An overview of results from the HiSentinel80 flight will be presented.