World view stratospheric ballooning capabilities, research, and commercial applications

摘要

We are developing and deploying the capability to fly payloads, and later people, on high altitude balloon flights at altitudes up to 150 Kft, with flight times ranging from hours to weeks. Applications include research and education payloads for atmospheric science, astronomy, education, and other scientific pursuits, and commercial applications ranging from communications to remote sensing to defense, and near-space tourism. Over 50 flights have been conducted to date with payloads up to 1,000 pounds; flights with payloads up to 10,000 pounds are planned. We have introduced a new class of stratospheric vehicle known as a Stratollite, which enables long-duration (days, weeks, and months) uncrewed, persistent high-altitude flight with altitude control. Here we summarize capabilities, activities, and applications for these flight systems in what follows.