US high-tech startup Skydweller Aero has teamed up with Thales, a French electronics company specializing in defense systems, to develop a new maritime surveillance drone that can stay far longer than existing machines.
Skydweller aims to be able to fly continuously, with power purely from solar energy. The first flight milestone is to keep your aloft for 90 days, but in the end you could fly much longer.
The solar energy that powers the Skydweller is captured by over 17,000 individual solar cells and spreads over a wing surface of approximately 2,900 square feet (270 square meters).
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During the day, solar energy is used to maintain flight, power onboard avionics, and charge the charge. The Skydweller has a 1,400 pound (635 kilograms) battery. This allows the SkyDweller to maintain near-continuous flights.
Skydwellers usually fly at altitudes of 24,600-34,400 feet (7,500 and 10,500 meters), but can fly to 44,600 feet (13,600 meters) during the day, followed by a drop of 4,900 feet (1,500-3,000 meters) at night.
Despite its wingspan similar to long-range commercial airliners, the Skydweller weighs 160 times more than the “jumbo jet.” The total load capacity is 400 tons, the maximum capacity is 2.5 metric tons, and the total capacity is 400 tons.
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Solar-powered aircraft are not completely new, but they suffer from structural problems, including catastrophic failures when climbing or descending medium altitudes (approximately 6,500-32,800 feet, or 2,000-10,000 m).
SkyDweller is specially designed to operate at this altitude range and uses the flight control system’s automatic gust load mitigation software to reduce the aerodynamic load caused by turbulence. It is also made of carbon fiber and can carry payloads up to 800 pounds (362 kg).
Continuous monitoring by the sky
A quadruple bouncing flight control system and a vehicle management system (VMS) are required to operate the aircraft continuously and reliably for up to 90 days. If one of the onboard systems fails, the backup system can take over to maintain flight.
A self-healing algorithm within the VMS autonomously shuts down, corrects and revives failed strings (coding in the algorithm), which allows the aircraft to return to four times the redundancy, according to information published by company representatives. This allows the aircraft to maintain consistent flight.
When fully charged, onboard batteries can maintain flight at night, but capacity deteriorates over time, potentially limiting the maximum patrol period for the aircraft. Skydweller’s reliance on solar power to keep its flights means that its patrols must also avoid areas with limited sunlight, such as polar regions during the winter.
Skydweller Aero recently partnered with Thales to equip Skydweller with a radar surveillance system designed for maritime patrol operations. Further test flights are planned with the goal of extending the maximum flight duration. Still, this is a major step forward in solar flights, especially for long-term monitoring.
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