Members of the Air Force Space Battlelab will conduct a Phase I demonstration flight of the V-Airship, a Near Space Maneuvering Vehicle, in late February at the new Pecos County/West Texas Spaceport in Ft. Stockton, Texas.
Battlelab members from Schriever Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colo., hope to demonstrate the unique capabilities of the V-Airship by ascending the craft to 100,000 feet Mean Sea Level using a 10-pound command and control package, navigating between two predetermined points, loitering for 5 minutes, and then safely returning the craft to the spaceport.
The battlelab also hopes to validate the operation of an autonomous onboard GPS navigation package and the operation of two motors driving carbon fiber propellers.
Since working with the V-Airship, the Battlelab envisions the possibility of exploiting a previously untapped portion of the atmosphere known as “near-space” which extends from 65,000 feet to 100 kilometers. In addition, the Battlelab is currently studying a near-space enabling concept that may include a variety of vehicles and platforms to exploit the near space regime.
If this inaugural demonstration flight is successful, the Space Battlelab will investigate funding a Phase II program to build a vehicle that will ascend to over 100,000 feet with a 100-pound payload.
Pending a funding decision, this vehicle could fly in late 2004 or early 2005. The Army, Navy and several Unified Commands have expressed interest in the program, believing NSMVs offer a quick-launch intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite capability.
