A review of lighter-than-air progress in the United States and its technological significance
- Paper ID
1977-IAF-163
- author
- company
NASA Headquarters
- country
U.S.A.
- year
1977
- abstract
Lighter-than-air vehicles are seriously being considered as solutions to several contemporary and future problems in transportation and for opening new opportunities in communications and services. These new directions for the oldest branch of aeronautical science have resulted from a combination of studies to identify new uses for aerostats, new needs in transportation and communication, and from recent advances in technology. Developments which led to some of the current uses were actually initiated several years ago, but the concentration of study and activity in the past two years has produced many more new possibilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine recent events in the United States, provide a background relationship for their development, and discuss their technological significance, particularly with regard to their application and future prospects* For convenience, aerostats are discussed in the categories of balloons, balloon-airship systems, and airships.