Qinetiq Zephyr

Zephyr is a lightweight solar-powered UAV which was originally designed and built by the QQ1 "Edge of Space" team who were sponsored by the United Kingdom defence firm, Qinetiq.[1] It is of carbon-fibre construction, and uses sunlight to charge a lithium sulphur battery during the day, which powers the aircraft at night. The aircraft has been designed for use in observation and communications relay.[2]

The Zephyr holds the official endurance record for an unmanned aerial vehicle for its flight from 9 July to 23 July 2010, lasting 336 hours and 22 minutes (2 weeks / 14 days).[3][4] Record claims have been verified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for both duration and altitude, at 21,562 meters.[5] It beat the previous endurance record for unmanned flight by more than a factor of five.[6] [7]

In a 2008 demonstration for the US military, a smaller-scale version of the Zephyr performed beyond the official world record for the longest-duration unmanned flight, however its 82-hour flight at an altitude of 61,000 feet did not set an official record because FAI officials were not involved in the flight.[8]

Contents

Design

The vehicle can circle over a particular area for extended periods. The military uses the vehicle for reconnaissance and communications platforms. Civilian and scientific programmes use it for Earth observation. During the day, Zephyr uses its state-of-the-art solar cells spread across its wings to recharge high-power lithium-sulphur batteries and drive two propellers. At night, the energy stored in the batteries is sufficient to maintain Zephyr in the sky. The batteries are Lithium Sulphur batteries supplied by Sion.[9]

The new vehicle is bigger and takes five individuals to launch, as opposed to the three previously. The team runs gently into the wind until it lifts out of their hands.

Flight

The 53 kg[10] Zephyr will probably climb to about 40,000 ft on its first day, and then try to maintain 60,000 ft thereafter. It is likely to lose about 20,000 ft each night.

Technical specifications

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Renewable energy portal

References

  1. ^ "It's official: Zephyr takes UAV endurance record". http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/12/22/351216/its-official-zephyr-takes-uav-endurance-record.html. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
  2. ^ QinetiQ Group PLC (14 Sept 2008). "Zephyr - QinetiQ High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs)". http://www.qinetiq.com/home/products/zephyr.html. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
  3. ^ Amos, Jonathan (2010-07-23). "'Eternal plane' returns to Earth". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10733998. Retrieved 2010-07-23. "touched down at 1504 BST ... on Friday ... took off ... at 1440 BST (0640 local time) on Friday, 9 July" 
  4. ^ "World Record Claims - Class U (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. http://records.fai.org/data?c=21. Retrieved 2010-11-28. 
  5. ^ "Record File No. 16052". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. http://records.fai.org/file?i=2&f=16052. Retrieved 2010-11-28. 
  6. ^ Amos, Jonathan (2010-07-17). "Zephyr solar plane flies 7 days non-stop". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10664362. Retrieved 2010-07-17. 
  7. ^ Amos, Jonathan (2010-07-14). "Zephyr solar plane set for record endurance flight". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10629313. Retrieved 2010-07-14. 
  8. ^ Amos, Jonathan (2008-08-24). "Solar plane makes record flight" (in BBC). BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7577493.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
  9. ^ QinetiQ Group PLC (16 July 2010). "QinetiQ’s Zephyr solar powered unmanned aircraft soars to new world records". http://www.qinetiq.com/home/newsroom/news_releases_homepage/2010/3rd_quarter/zephyr_2010.html. Retrieved 2010-08-17. 
  10. ^ "Wing-to-tail guide to Zephyr, the 'eternal' plane". BBC News. 23 July 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10742411. 

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