POBAL-S, the analysis and design of a high altitude airship. Final report, October 1972--March 1975. [For station keeping at an altitude of 21 km for 7 days; 500 W fuel cell power supply]

Technical Report · Fri Jan 31 23:00:00 EST 1975

OSTI ID:7116651

Beemer, J D; Parsons, R R; Rueter, L L; Seuferer, P A; Swiden, L R

An engineering analysis and development effort has been executed to design a superpressure airship, POBAL-S, capable of station keeping at an altitude of 21 kilometers for a duration of 7 days while supporting a payload weighing 890 Newtons and requiring 500 watts of electrical power. A detailed parametric trade-off between various power sources and other design choices was performed. The computer program used to accomplish this analysis is described and many results are presented. The system concept which resulted was a fuel cell powered, propeller driven airship controlled by an on-board autopilot with basic commands telemetered from a ground control station. Design of the balloon, power train, gimbaled propeller assembly, and electronic/electrical systems is presented. Flight operations for launch and recovery are discussed.

• Research Organization: Raven Industries, Inc., Sioux Falls, SD (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7116651
• Report Number(s): AD-A-012292; R-0275006
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
300501* -- Fuel Cells-- Design & Development
300504 -- Fuel Cells-- Applications
AIRCRAFT
BALLOONS
DESIGN
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
FUEL CELLS
POWER RANGE 100-1000 W
POWER SUPPLIES
SPECIFICATIONS