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Galileo Systems Interim ReportLow Cost High Altitude Sensor Platform

K. Mark Caviezel, Engineer, PIDr. Gary E. Snyder, President

January 12, 2004

Richard Powers, EngineerWil McCarthy, Engineer

(720)333-2248

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Progress Conceptual study of station

keeping HAA platform conducted, near term feasibility appears good evolved finless airship chosen as

lowest risk option low drag low cost

solar power COTS power storage technology

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Proposed Family of Vehicles

Graf Galileo Day Flier 90 feet long 22.5k cubic feet

Graf Galileo Day/Night Station Keeper (DNSK) 320 feet long 1.0 million cubic feet

Graf Galileo One 640 feet long 8 million cubic feet, small radar

Graf Galileo Two 830 feet long 17.6 million cubic feet large radar

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Graf Galileo Vehicle Family

Day Flier DayNight Stationkeeper Graf Galileo One Graf Galileo TwoPayload 0 lb 0 lb 4000 lb 12000 lbMass 109 lb 5400 lb 40000 lb 91000 lbDisplacement 22 K cuft 1 M cuft 8 M cuft 17 M cuftLength 90 ft 320 ft 640 ft 820 ftMotor Power 660 W 8500 W 34000 W 55000 WPropeller Diameter 14 ft 48 ft 96 ft 120 ftSolar Power 680 W 25000 W 160000 W 390000 W Solar Area 190 sqft 7100 sqft 44000 sqft 110000 sqftPayload Power 0 W 0 W 12000 W 75000 W Storage Energy 300 Whr 15 kWhr 970 kWhr 2400 k WhrStorage Weight 7 lb 2900 lb 18000 lb 44000 lb

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Graf Galileo Day Flier Demonstrate low drag finless

architecture with active control Autonomous daytime station

keeping Demonstrate small scale

operations from non dedicated facility

Applied engineering research tool Only COTS materials with existing

tooling and facilities

90 feet long

22.5 thousand cubic feet displacement

GVW 110 lbs.

Thin film solar panel test bed

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Graf Galileo Day/Night Station Keeper (DNSK)

Incremental ramp up in size and capability

Will test all required technologies for production units

Test bed for propeller, solar panels, batteries, motors, fuel cells.

Demonstrate Day/Night Station Keeping Can be built with COTS technologies

320 feet long

1 million cubic feet displacement

GVW 5500 lbs.

Li-Ion Batteries

Brushless DC motors

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Graf Galileo OneWill be platform for 24/7 station keeping for 4000 lb, 20kWe sensor packageMultiple airships for load-levelingCan be built with COTS technologies

640 feet long

8.1 million cubic feet displacement

GVW 39k lbs.

Li-Ion Batteries

4000 lb/20kWe payload

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Graf Galileo Two Nearly 18 million cubic feet- may

be shunk significantly with battery or fuel cell technology improvements

Will provide 24/7 platform for 12k lb, 75kWe sensor platform

Can be built with COTS technologies

830 feet long

17.6 million cubic feet

GVW 93k lb

12k lb/75 kWe payload

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Graf Galileo Architecture Pressure stabilized hull and central airboom with catenary

curtain baselined midway through SBIR phase one. Thrust vectoring, Fore and Aft propellers

thrust vectoring front tractor for stability fixed stern propulsion for efficiency

All ships can be built in a facility significantly smaller than the ship itself

Assembly, check out and launch operations can take place from non-dedicated location

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Graf Galileo Architecture, cont.

High use of COTS architecture ‘Operation-Centric’ concept and design Thin film solar and moderate energy

density electrical batteries are the enabling technologies

Low drag Finless design lower propulsion power required reduced battery mass

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‘Graf Galileo’ Key Technologies Low permeation lifting gas cells High efficiency electrical motors ‘Lightweight’ power storage Lightweight solar power Active control Central air boom High-efficiency Large-span propellers Robust design and operations plan Lift bags instead of ballonets to support

14:1 volume change

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Low Permeation Lifting Gas Cells•Completely sealed, hydrogen filled co-extruded Vectran/PPS membranes. •No valves, saves weight, complexity, reduces failure modes•Preliminary results have promise•Galileo Systems has successful experience with GH2 lifting gas

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Gas Cell Diffusion / Leak Rate

Vectran Liquid Crystal Polymer material- strong candidate 1/4000th as Permeable as

polyethylene 412ksi Tensile Strength Low Creep (Essentially Zero)

Possible Metal Cladding (Aluminized Mylar)

Make-Up Gas or Ballast Not Needed.

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High Efficiency Electric Motors

Brushless Efficiency greater than 90%

demonstrated Light weight Long service life Similar to technology used on

Pathfinder and Centurion long endurance aircraft

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Power options

Nuclear not considered Beamed power not considered All chemical not practical Thin film solar panels available from

numerous vendors

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Lay Out of Electrical SystemThin film Solar Panel 1 kWe/14 lb

Step up/down Maximum Power Tracker with communications 0.2 kg

DC Power bus 480V

Load

Commercial Li-Ion Battery15V @ 11A-h, 1.4 kg

Shunt RegController

Step Up/Down Charge/Discharge Regulator w/ Comm

Typical Electrical Power Generation and Storage System

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Position of Electrical Components

Intelligent Battery

Thin Film Solar Panels

VFD Drive &Motor Payload &

Inverter

MPP Tracker & DC Converter

Power Bus 14AWG‘Loop’

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Hydrogen as a Lifting GasUsed widely in outside USA for stratospheric ballooning with good safety record.Higher performance than HeliumLower permeation than HeliumCompletely sealed architecture eliminates H2/air mixingHelium is a viable choice with attendant size/weight/ cost growth penalty

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Drag Reduction

Active Control permits Finless Hull lower radar cross section

Radar Transparent Hull can eliminate gondola (internal payload carry)

Stern Propulsion reduces drag through boundary layer control

>40% drag reduction

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Central Air boom, Air Pressure Stabilized Hull

Enabling technology for ship assembly in non-dedicated facility

Damage and degradation tolerant Central air boom allows lower ship pressure

and reduction or elimination of nose battens Active pressure control permits rigidity at all

altitudes and built in test Low drag shape maintained at all altitudes (built

in test)

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Large Span Propellers Only appropriate for bow and stern

propulsion architectures Enable extremely high propulsive

efficiencies. Rutan-style lightweight construction

technique• hollow graphite/epoxy center spar • thermal cut foam core• graphite/epoxy overwrap

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Stability and Control

• Inherently stable in roll and pitch

• Slightly unstable in yaw -- requires active control

Wind Shadow

TORQUE

Blimp Body Airfoil Effects

TORQUE

Thrust Asymmetry

TORQUE

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Stability and Control Day Flier Actuator Requirements:

Two Actuators: Tractor Pitch and Tractor Yaw Peak Power <3 Watts per axis Peak Force <0.33 lbs. per axis Linear Range ~3 cm ~5% duty cycle for worst-case station keeping Time Average Power Consumption <0.3

Watts Requires 10 cm lever arm from propeller hub

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Stability and Control

Day Flier Maneuverability

ControllerType

Tractor FanGimbal Rate

Tractor FanGimbal Max

Time tocomplete3.6o

maneuver

Time tocomplete180o

maneuverMild 1 deg/sec 4 deg 256 sec 550 secAggressive 10 deg/sec 15 deg 125 sec 245 secPhysicalLimit

500 deg/sec 90 deg 9 sec 60 sec

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Open Issues

Thermal control Ozone Component longevity Hull stretch

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Thermal control HAAs are unique in that they are a

power-rich platform. Maintaining component temperatures

can be conducted through waste-heat management.

Detailed analysis required, payload characteristics needed

Blowers, Heaters, and Albedo

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Ozone and Ultraviolet

‘build a little, fly a little’ may be best approach. Address ozone compatibility

problems as they are identified in medium duration test flights.

Alternate thin Stainless Steel Solar Panels

Possible Metal Vapor Deposition

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Component Longevity

Engineering Data Bench Testing In situ results from incrementally

gained flight test experience in HAA environment

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Hull Stretch Selected materials are different

from pressure airship materials of the 1920’s-1950’s. Techniques for dealing with stretch

may be similar Air inflated architecture is tolerant

to significant levels of stretch. Stretch is proportional to stress

level, Graf Galileos are not highly stressed

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Airship Innovation Significant, ~50% drag reduction

through elimination of fins and external propulsion cars

Example: Graf Galileo versus Conventional Airship Graf Galileo Day Night Station Keeper

finless: 320 feet long (1M ft3 ) 5400 lb. Conventional: 550 feet long (5M ft3 ) 28,000 lb.

Graf Galileo Two finless: 830 feet long (17.6M ft3 ) 92,000 lb. Conventional: 970 feet long (28M ft3) 150,000 lb.

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Robust Design and Operations Plan

PI has manufactured balloons >100,000 cubic feet in a 600 square foot work space successful flight to over 106k ft

Graf Galileo operations plan leveraged from experience with extreme high altitude balloons FAA airspace coordination

Impressive cost savings versus traditional blimp hangar option.

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Typical Build up and Launch•Step One: unroll hull (with integrated catenary curtain and central airboom)

(The textile portions of the Graf Galileo DNSK are projected to be approximately 750 lbs., manageable by 10-12 workers without specialized tools)

•Step Two: Install batteries into keel

(DNSK: 2800 lbs. batteries)

•Step Three: Inflate central airboom, mechanically install motors

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Typical Build up and Launch, cont.

Step Four: install and check out payload

Step Five: Install lifting gas cells Step Six: Mechanically and

Electrically integrate Solar panels Step Seven: Stake Down Hull,

Inflate hull with air

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Typical Build up and Launch, cont. Step Eight: attach propeller blades and check

out propulsion system

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Typical Build up and Launch, cont. Step Nine: load buoyancy gas into lifting gas cells

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Typical Build up and Launch, cont. Step Ten: Untether ship and fly to service vicinity

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End of Phase I

Jan 13- Feb 8 Additional Engineering of Day

Flier, Day/Night Station Keeper Continued Experiments

(Fabrication Rates) Parts List Selection / Costing Phase II Proposal

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Phase 2 Conduct detailed design,

fabrication and test flights of Graf Galileo Day Flier. First flight within 4 months of contract start.

Allowing for any technology improvements, proceed to detailed design, fabrication and test flights of Graf Galileo DNSK component parts prices are an issue

Small, ‘skunk works’-like team with extensive design, build experience

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‘Graf Galileo’ family of HAA vehicles

K. Mark Caviezel, Engineer, PIDr. Gary E. Snyder, President

Richard Powers, EngineerWil McCarthy, Engineer