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Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

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Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#211

Post by Breza »

Breza wrote: post #210
marcodiego wrote: post #21

Complete outsider doubt: Does this has the potential to replace satellites? Or, why did google project loon failed?

I think it would complement, not replace. There are missions that nicely fit the capabilities of UAS, there are missions that nicely fit the capability of satellites, and there are in-between missions that could benefit from long-duration aircraft like this. I live in the east side of Washington DC. We regularly have police helos flying overhead. I wonder if this kind of platform could supplement their efforts for th…

Cherry picking examples, UAS will always be best for a construction manager looking at the progress of a highrise, and there's no way an atmospheric vehicle would host a world class space telescope. But things like monitoring deforestation could benefit from a vehicle that can take high-res photos day after day without needing a lot of maintenance and then be packed up and shipped to the arctic to estimate sea ice. A single satellite would have trouble performing both missions.

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#212

Post by Breza »

elif wrote: post #68
marcodiego wrote: post #21

Complete outsider doubt: Does this has the potential to replace satellites? Or, why did google project loon failed?

A craft like this is more likely to serve predator/reaper/sentinel missions. Particularly ones in locations you don't want the aesthetics of full state surveilance but still want the same operational capacity.

I envision more unarmed uses. I live in Washington DC, where the aesthetics don't matter as much as the operational capability. We're so used to helos flying around that spotting them has become a game: https://twitter.com/HelicoptersofDC

When a bank teller says "The robbers drove away in a blue car," the police want the ability to roll back the tape and find all the blue cars that left the bank in the past hour and see where they are now.

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#213

Post by Breza »

ebawho44 wrote: post #178

With a cruise speed of 30kn, better hope its not too windy wherever you are flying, winds aloft can often be much higher than this

That's a definite problem for ISP duties. Law enforcement is used to "sorry no air support tonight, it's windy."

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#214

Post by Breza »

akozak wrote: post #29

Doesn't appear to have a payload in the picture. That would add weight & power draw.

Proving the concept is huge, since this is an idea that's at least as old as satellites. Once they have the proof of concept, I see three additional hurdles: 1. Safety. Prove you can keep these things in the air for months at a time without any of them crashing. 2. Payload. Exactly what you point out. 3. Operational usefulness. Can this thing stay in the air for months while flying the routes necessary to complete its mission?

I really hope Airbus and others are able to make this concept work. It would be nice to have an in-between option between UAS and satellite.

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#215

Post by Breza »

onychomys wrote: post #19
zarazas wrote: post #17

But there is starlink for internet in rural areas

Sure, but even if these planes managed to somehow cost as much as a starlink satellite, it'd still be cheaper to do it this way because having some dude toss it up into the air for takeoff is basically free compared to even a fully reusable Starship flight.

Plus it can be deployed on an as-needed basis. Large concert in a rural area? Hurricane destroy your city's infrastructure? Toss up a few planes and get the service you need for a week or month until the situation is resolves. (At least that's the theory... I hope this technology works as planned.)

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#216

Post by Breza »

hellohntoday wrote: post #42

I'm assuming the flights were achieved mid summer when they days are longest and it can't yet operate outside this window. If this is the case, shame they don't just admit this up front

All of this comes with a big "Work in progress" caveat. Still, this type of technology has been theorized for decades so it's nice to see Airbus making progress. Let's see if they can get it to the point of commercialization.

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#217

Post by Tepix »

tpmx wrote: post #52
Tepix wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These planes can compete with Starlink in certain scenarios, for example you can launch them in the event of floods that knock out the regular telecommunications infrastructure.

With Starlink soon having ~global coverage, why bother transporting, launching and servicing these aircraft for a one time thing? I don't see the benefit. Will also be really hard to reach low prices for end user terminals with this approach. Very high quality visual/signals surveillance seems like a much more obvious market fit.

For starters, all network participants need an expensive, large and power hungry Starlink antenna. An airplane could work with smaller devices as endpoints, such as phones.

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#218

Post by Tepix »

silisili wrote: post #132
jws wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

…cause a boat to tilt to the side… This is a net positive. The alternative is to roll back and forth with the waves. It’s much nicer with the sail up and ata bit of a heel. Also, just to throw this in, one of the world cruising sailing couples which wrote for the magazines switched to a diesel powered boat as they aged and found that they spent less of fuel than they had on new sails. Sails are consumables if you car…

Interesting last point...curious why is that? Do they get battered from weather and physically tear, or do they just stretch/thin over time?

It really depends on the type of sails you buy.

The cheapest ones last the longest but offer the worst performance.

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#219

Post by Tepix »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #69
Retric wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sails have several major downsides, most notably they take up a lot of deck space and cause a boat to tilt to the side. If you’re regularly sailing long distances it’s much faster but top speed isn’t that big of a deal when your living on the boat full time. Other options like kites and wind turbines can work well but they all all significant upfront costs as well as ongoing maintenance issues. Spending that same mon…

>top speed isn’t that big of a deal when your living on the boat full time.// If you're living on your boat 365 then I imagine avoiding severe weather becomes more important?

On average liveaboards are sailing around 10% of the time. Most of the time if bad weather is approaching they will just stay in a safe location.

Re: Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

#220

Post by HeadsUpHigh »

ncmncm wrote: post #205
HeadsUpHigh wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The extra money is probably needed to make the whole thing viable. SpaceX probably has a goal price for consumer plans and they are just trying to hit that price. Regardless I just don't see SpaceX as the company that doesn't evolve with times tbh.

I do not understand that reasoning at all, where there is any. "Evolve with times" does not seem to mean anything. In markets where Starlink is viable, they have no effective competition, and can charge as much as the market will bear. As long as they have more potential users than bandwidth to sell them, they are under no pressure to reduce prices or give up profit. A goal to subsidize Martian colonization provides…

Yea let's not serve an area because their only option could potentially overcharge them! Completely ignoring the fact that you can't define an overcharge without alternative options. Current sat internet is orders of magnitude more expensive for a much worse service. Starlink is literally breaking monopolies and your worry is that it's going to be a monopoly itself.
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