HiSentinel

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The HiSentinel is a stratospheric airship under development sponsored by the Army Space and Missile Defense Command (ASMDC).

Designed for launch from remote sites, these airships do not require large hangars or special facilities. Unlike most stratospheric airship concepts, HiSentinel is launched flaccid with the hull only partially inflated with helium. As the airship rises, the helium expands until it completely inflates the hull to the rigid aerodynamic shape required for operation.

On December 4, 2005 a team led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) successfully demonstrated powered flight of the HiSentinel stratospheric airship at an altitude of 74,000 feet (22.6 km). The development team of Aerostar International, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and SwRI launched the airship from Roswell, New Mexico, for a five-hour technology demonstration flight. The 146-foot-long (44.5 m) airship carried a 60-pound (27 kg) equipment pod and propulsion system when it became only the second airship in history to achieve powered flight in the stratosphere.