roadmap for technology and product development of airship by ml sidana et al[1]

High Altitude Airships - Aero India International Seminar 2011

CSIR National Aerospace Laboratories 1

Roadmap for Technology and Product Development of

High Altitude Airship in India

Dr A.R. Upadhya1, Mr. ML Sidana

2 and Jitendra Singh

3

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore-560017

Ph: + 91 80 2527 0584 Fax: +91 - 080 - 2526 0862

ABSTRACT

The main objective of the paper is to explore the scope for Development and Application of High

Altitudes Airship (HAA) in India. Therefore, this paper aims to look critically at the benefits derived

from such a system, and the challenges involved in upgrading the Technology Readiness level and

Operationalization of High Altitude Airship in India.

Eventually, it should be able to answer few important questions in this respect such as:

• Does India need an HAA?

• Is it available to India?

• Does India need to/and can develop an HAA system with or without international collaboration?

• What is the current technology status to develop such a system?

• What are the most critical technologies that need to be developed for this programme?

• What is required for System-level program development in terms of: Technologies, Organization

structure, Time & Cost?

Fundamentally HAA is a culmination of Lighter-than-Air (LTA) technologies which essentially means

that it uses aerostatic lift to remain airborne instead of aerodynamic lift. They are usually filled with an

inert gas such as Helium which expands as it rises through the air. Hence the principle of buoyancy comes

into play. That is the key difference between Heavier-than-Air systems that uses aerodynamic lift

generated by pressure difference created by the lifting surface.

History records that the LTA technologies has originated about 200 years ago and was the first way to fly

people. Over time Airship attempts provided with an opportunity to pioneer new applications and

ushering new technologies. This technology is also referred to as near-space technology due to its vicinity

and potential applications. This system is targeted to operate in stratosphere to provide platforms for

persistent surveillance, weather measurement, both civil and military communication. Besides, it can be

used for Military and Homeland security applications. For each role, multiple candidate missions can be

accomplished. Depending upon the payloads, an HAA can be used as a multi-mission platform i.e. it can

be used for remote sensing, surveillance communication and missile defence as the same time.

1 The Director, National Aerospace Laboratories, [email protected] 2 Former Director, ADRDE, Agra, CSIR Technical Consultant, [email protected] 3 Scientist Fellow & Program Manager, National Civil Aircraft Development, [email protected]



APPLICATIONS

The airship can have several applications and based on that multiple candidate missions can be planned

under each category of Civil, Military, and Homeland Security. Some of the most promising missions

could be envisaged as given below under Military / Paramilitary and Civil roles are briefly shown in

block diagram below.

Military / Paramilitary

Roles

Ballistic/Cruise

Missile Defense

Communications and

Tactical Networks and

Electronic Intelligence

Surveillance and

Tracking of Land /

Naval Forces

C3I Missions

Anti Submarine

Warfare

Long Range

Airlift

AEW Roles

Border

Surveillance

Fishery

Protection

Counter

Insurrection

Sovereignty

Enforcement

Para -Military Roles Military Roles

Civil Roles

Weather Measurement

and Forecasting

Transportation Resource

Mapping

Scientific and

Experimental

Research

Communication

(Mobile and

Broadband)

Disaster Management and

Tsunami Monitoring

Customs and

Immigration Search and Rescue

Police customs and

Immigration



AIRSHIP vs. SATELLITES

Now the question arises what key differences it has vis a vis satellite. In other words what advantages can

be expected over the satellites. HAA will essentially work like a low altitude geostationary satellite

offering following merits:

� persistent 24/7 capability

� low cost, rapid reconstitution of capabilities

� low inherent detectability, observability

� Satellites are quite expensive (over 10 times) due to cost involved with Rocket Launch,

Special Equipments (expensive Radios / High-Tech Cameras for same resolution image)

� multi-mission, exchangeable/repairable/upgradeable payloads

� Limited environmental impacts

With the foregoing discussions, several organizations in our country have expressed interest in promoting

this technology eventually leading to a fully fledged platform. Key stakeholders are Integrated Defence

Services, NTRO, National Remote Sensing, NTRO, IMD, Geological Survey of India, Homeland

Security, Communication, Survey of India etc.

Having a stratospheric grid between Air grid (below stratosphere) and Space grid (comprising satellites)

can enhance the effectiveness of Multilayer network relay in Military communication scenario.

In our country, there have been DST initiatives and other organizations too are actively involved in the

R&D activities of LTA systems. Some of the prominent ones are ADRDE, NAL, ISRO, PADD - IIT

Bombay, and TIFR - National Balloon Facility.

Following is a pictorial representation of how HAA could find its application in variety of areas which

with a particular mention of Sovereignty enforcement, fleet protection, Surveillance of Border and High

value assets.

A constellation of 20 Airships positioned at about 21 kms altitude can cover the entire country and offer

great advantage both in terms of cost & benefits.

HAA GLOBAL STATUS

There are several nations involved in development of High Altitude/Stratospheric Airships. A brief

summary is given below to provide a global status on overall scenario. In recent years, several R&D

projects of solar powered stratospheric platform have been aggressively promoted in different countries of

the world, for example:

• European Space Agency, Europe

• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan

• National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (NI-AIST), Japan

• Korean Aerospace Research Institute, Korea (KARI)

• Advanced Technology Group, United Kingdom

• Sky Station International, United States of America

• Lockheed Martin, USA

• CAPNINA, University of York, UK

• NASA’s High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE)



Apart from these agencies, there are other countries which have attempted or have been active in the

development of HAA or its part thereof. Such as, China, Germany, Canada, Israel, Russia & Switzerland.

The range of activities included from Technology familiarization to the development of scaled prototype

platforms. Several of these programs have also been halted due to lack of funding and/or inadequately

matured technologies. This has even led to some of the companies having been closed. The only active

development is reported to be happening in the USA (DARPA) and some other lesser known DOD

Sponsored as well as some Private Company Funded Projects. DARPA (Defence Advanced Research

Projects Agency) funded project on Integrated Sensors Is Structure (ISIS) is being jointly developed

between Lockheed Martin, Akron and Raytheon, taking responsibility for Platform and Payloads

respectively. Boeing Company also seems to have initiated a company funded project on this technology.

The Technology Demonstrator under the DARPA Programme is planned to be flown in 2014 and an

Operational System is likely to be planned for flying in 2018, if the Technology Demonstrator is

successful. Fig 1 below is a succinct explanation of all-pervasive potential usage of an HAA, and its

comparison with other platforms in terms of their ceiling and Range.

The Government to Government Collaborations

needs to be explored with the Governments of

Japan, Korea, USA, Germany, UK, Switzerland and

Russia to reduce uncertainties and the development

life cycle time & cost. Fig 1. DARPA HAA concept (Source: DARPA - used by permission)

HAA/Lighter then Air (LTA) STATUS IN INDIA

In India, we have not yet developed any stratospheric airship so far; however there are other platforms

which have demonstrated LTA technology such as tethered aerostats by ADRDE, blimps by NAL,

Scientific Balloons at NBF TIFR and similar developments at ISRO & IIT Bombay. The experience with

Lighter-than Air System have so far been limited to the operation of two imported Aerostat Systems and

development of 250 cubic meters and 2000 cubic meters Aerostats at ADRDE Agra, which are yet to be

operationalized. Also, development of a prototype Blimp of 300 cubic meters is under progress jointly

between NAL Bangalore and ADRDE Agra. Small prototypes of unmanned airships have also been flown

by IIT Mumbai and ISRO as experimental vehicles. The NBF at Hyderabad has been playing a pioneering

role in Scientific Ballooning for over 50 yrs. The Center has flown more than 400 missions and is

recognized as an International Centre for fabrication and launching of balloons and for carrying out

Scientific Experiments up to altitudes of 50 km.



POTENTIAL STAKEHOLDERS

Department of Science & Technology (DST) have been taking initiatives for exploring the scope for

development and application of this technology. Other potential stakeholders (as Users or development

partners) who have been encouraging the development of HAA are listed below: A. Users

1. Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)

2. Defence Services and Para-military Forces

3. National Technical Research Organization (NTRO)

4. Indian Meteorological Department (MOES)

5. Geological Survey Of India (GSI)

6. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

7. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)

8. Airport Authority Of India (AAI)

9. Advanced Research Centre (ARC)

10. Communication Industry

11. Scientific Research Community

12. Oil Extraction and Process Industry

B. Development partners

1. Department Of Science And Technology (DST)

2. Ministry Of Defence (DRDO)

3. Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research (CSIR)

4. Department Of Space (ISRO)

5. Department Of Atomic Energy (TIFR), NBF

6. Indian Meteorological Department (MOES)

7. Academic Institutions like IITs / IISc / Universities

8. International partners

9. Public-Private Partnership

The workshop held at NAL in February 2010

established the need of having an HAA for various

applications for both Civil and Military / Paramilitary

applications. On the other hand it was recognized that

Technology Readiness Level (TRLs) needs to be

upgraded significantly to make this platform available

for use. Fig 2 is just a rough illustration that about of 20

airship positioned at 21 kms altitude can address the

surveillance needs of entire nation.

Fig2.An illustration of 20 Airships providing coverage on

entire Indian subcontinent



In terms of sizing, for an operating altitude of 20km, some estimates based on the payload are given

below:

Table 1: Airship size vs. Payload data on some major global programs

Target HAA for Technology Development is expected to carry the payload of about 50 kg.

HAA TECHNOLOGY & DEVELOPMENT ROADMAP

For the development, there are a few critical technologies that need to be matured to realize an Indian

HAA. The key technologies are:

• Envelope materials and fabrication processes

• Solar based Power System

• Regenerative Fuel Cells

• Aerodynamic configuration and optimization studies for technology demonstrator and full scale

development

• Control law, Control system algorithm, and System Architecture for geostationary positioning

of HAA.

• Launch and Recovery experimentation to demonstrate the technologies for an HAA configuration

• Payloads

In terms of specific design targets, there is a strong need of developing technologies for Envelope

Material, Power Management (Solar Cells and RFC), and Aerodynamic Configuration along with

establishing the Ground infrastructure for Launch and Recovery. Table 2 below provides a rough

overview of the design targets and the corresponding gaps that needs to be bridged to bring to a sufficient

Technology Readiness Level for Operationalization of airship.

Organization Length Max Dia Payload Volume

Lockheed Martin HAA 150 m 46m 1800 kg 162000 m3

Lockheed Martin

HALE

73 m 21 m 20 kg 14150 m3

StratSat HAA 200 m 48 m 1000 kg 269000 m3

Berkut ET (0-30 la) 150 m 50 m 1200 kg 192000 m3

Berkut ML (30-45 lat) 200 m 50 m 1200 kg 256000 m3

Berkut HL (45-60 lat) 250 m 50 m 1200 kg 320000 m3

JAXA, Japan 245 m 61 m 1000 kg 480000 m3

KARI, Korea 50 m 12.5 m 100 kg 4091 m3

Target HAA (India) 250 60 2000 kg 470000 m3



> 4 times~ 0.5 kW/m22 kW/m2Power / surface area

(W/m2)

> 4 times0.5 kW/kg2 kW/kgPower density of

complete array

(kW/kg)

~20 %12-14 %15%Cell efficiency at end-of-

life (%)

Solar Cells

TBD~50 % @ 1

yr

>85%@ 5yrs Strength retention after

exposure to UV light

and atomic oxygen

(max 1.4 kW/m2

and AO flux 10**17

atoms/(cm2.s))

> 660 times2L/m2/24 hr0.003L/m2/24 hr Hydrogen Permeability

> 2 times500 N/cm >1000 N/cm Fabric Strength

> 3 times<100 gm /

m2

Fabric Mass

Jump

Required

Current

status

(in India)

Target Specifications

(for Full Scale

Operationalization)

Key Parameters

Envelope Material

> 4 times~ 0.5 kW/m22 kW/m2Power / surface area

(W/m2)

> 4 times0.5 kW/kg2 kW/kgPower density of

complete array

(kW/kg)

~20 %12-14 %15%Cell efficiency at end-of-

life (%)

Solar Cells

TBD~50 % @ 1

yr

>85%@ 5yrs Strength retention after

exposure to UV light

and atomic oxygen

(max 1.4 kW/m2

and AO flux 10**17

atoms/(cm2.s))

> 660 times2L/m2/24 hr0.003L/m2/24 hr Hydrogen Permeability

> 2 times500 N/cm >1000 N/cm Fabric Strength

> 3 times<100 gm /

m2

Fabric Mass

Jump

Required

Current

status

(in India)

Target Specifications

(for Full Scale

Operationalization)

Key Parameters

Envelope Material

Table 2: Specific Design targets and technology jump required for a full scale HAA

The foregoing discussions provide a good indication of what kind of technology roadmap would be

necessary to achieve HAA mission. Specific details on each of these technologies are still being worked

out and expected to be completed toward later part of this year.

Envelope Material & Fabrication process: Material development suitable for high altitude airship

application, presents many a challenges to the material designer. The strength-to-weight ratio significantly

affects HAA system size and altitude. The challenge is to develop a very lightweight as well as strong

material that is capable of containing lifting gas and is resistant to the environment. The stratosphere

extends from approximately 17 km to 50 km above the Earth’s surface. The stratosphere is also called the

“ozone layer” because 90% of the earth's ozone is concentrated in this region. At this altitude, the nominal

temperature is -70ºF which can cause the material to become brittle with a resultant loss of flexibility. The

high ozone concentration and intense UV radiation can also deteriorate LTA material, resulting in a loss

of strength and permeability. The high strength-to-weight ratio, low creep, low moisture regain, and

improved hydrolysis resistance makes polyester fiber a good choice for lighter than air (LTA)

applications.



Power Management: Development of a-Si based thin film solar cells on ultra thin metal and plastic

substrates. Further R&D efforts on Efficiency improvement and to develop the CIGS and CdTe based

thin film solar cells on ultra thin metal and plastic substrates. Significant R&D efforts on Regenerative

Fuel Cells (RFCs) to be undertaken.

Aerodynamic Configuration and Sizing: Development of the CFD tools needed for the analysis of

external flow past the HAA at stratospheric conditions (High fidelity viscous flow solvers). Development

of simulation and modeling capability for the thermal management of the internal flow. Leverage existing

capabilities of IIT Bombay to further improve their capability of aerodynamic shape optimization and

sizing including controllability of the HAA. Wind Tunnel Testing of stratospheric flow past the HAA for

CFD code validation. Exploring research collaboration with Labs like LEC in ETH Zurich, which has

developed rich expertise on Aerodynamics and Thermal Management specific to Airship technologies.

Ground Handling and Launch Preparation: A hangar large enough to hold the complete, inflated

envelope during vehicle assembly, and large enough to attach all the essential hardware. From the

perspective of launch and recovery procedures, all operations can be housed at a single facility and the

necessary infrastructure should be built. Siting-survey should begin immediately, and setting up should

begin at the completion of Project Definition Phase. Few experiments on Launch and Recovery can be

planned at National Balloon Facility of TIFR.

Other Technologies (CLAW, Payloads, Propulsion etc): The development of other supporting

technologies would heavily depend upon the sizing and shape optimization, fabric material, power

management system and availability of Ground Handling / Launch capabilities. That will be the point

when we should able to define target specifications for other systems such as propulsion, controls,

navigation etc. However, conceptual studies on these technologies can/shall continue on parallel path.

Based on the technology gaps and current level of technologies available in India and worldwide, the

authors recommends following roadmap to achieve a full scale operational HAA. Of course, collaboration

with international agencies, which have already been involved in the development efforts of HA, would

be key to success.

The overall development is recommended to come about in 2 major phases:

a. Phase 1 = Technology Demonstrator (7 years). Brief breakdown of the major

deliverables in Phase 1 are given below:

i. Critical Technologies Development. Concurrently Project Definition phase needs

to initiated.

ii. Infrastructure development

iii. Technology Demonstrator

At the end of 6 years (i.e. a year before we embark on Phase 2), a detailed critical review

shall be done to evaluate the progress and the corresponding gaps to achieve planned

objectives.

b. Phase 2 = Productionization and Operationalization of Full Scale Airship



At the end of 7 years, a

detailed critical review

should be carried out

regarding overall cost,

schedule and deployment

benefits for

Productionization and

Operationalization of Full

Scale HAA.

Fig 3: Proposed HAA Development Roadmap

CONCLUSIONS

High Altitude Airship (HAA) HAA is of highly Strategic and Societal relevance to India. It can find

variety of applications such as Communication (broadband), Surveillance, Disaster Management,

Resource Mapping, Weather forecasting, Research in Atmospheric Sciences, & Astrophysics. Therefore,

it is strongly recommended to be pursued. The critical technologies required to be developed in India are

envelope materials and fabrication, solar based power system, fuel cells, aerodynamic configuration and

optimization, control system, launch and recovery including HAA configuration and payloads. Research

Proposals from National and International agencies can be immediately initiated in these areas

• Material Development

• Solar Power Management & RFCs

• Aerodynamic Configuration & Optimization

• Flight Controls

• Launch and Recovery Experimentation

• Reference Weather

International collaboration is equally important for the success of the Programme. Cross-Fertilization of

Technologies could result to benefits in other areas such as UAVs, Aviation and Societal Mission. The

Programme should be pursued in phased manner. Phase-I of the project should be taken up in mission

mode to focus on the technology development & demonstration and attending the civil society

applications like weather forecasting, resource mapping on large scale and disaster management etc. As

an immediate step, the authors are in the process of identifying, research agencies/partners for developing

various components of the technology, their financial requirement, galvanizing specific deliverables and

the corresponding schedules



KEY REFERENCES

1. Dr. Rajkumar S. Pant, Mr. Kaviresh M. Bhandari, “Sizing and Optimization of High Altitude

Platforms”, IIT-Bombay, August 2009.Submitted to NAL Bangalore

2. Dr. Mangala Joshi, Mr. Raj Kamal Prasad, “Sizing and Optimization of High Altitude Airship –

Materials and Processes” , IIT-Delhi, April 2010”. Submitted to NAL Bangalore

3. Prof. R. K. Manchanda, Mr.S. S. Srinivasan,Mr. J. V. Subbarao and Mr. B Suneel Kumar Ground

handling, Launch and recovery operations of High Altitude Airships. Submitted to NAL

Bangalore

4. Prof P Guhathakurtha “Conditions of Indian atmosphere around 20km above mean sea level”,

India Meteorological Department, Pune. Submitted to NAL Bangalore

5. Dr. J.S. Mathur, “Aerodynamics of High Altitude Airships” NAL Bangalore

6. Lewis Jamison, Geoffrey S. Sommer, Issac R. Porche “High-Altitude Airships for the future force

army” (RAND Report)

7. Naval Research Advisory Committee Report. NRAC 06-01“Lighter-Than-Air Systems for Future

Naval Missions”

8. Anthony Colozza and James L. Dolce “High-Altitude, Long-Endurance Airships for Coastal

Surveillance”; NASA/TM—2005-213427

9. Anthony Colozza “Initial Feasibility Assessment of a High Altitude Long Endurance Airship”

NASA/CR—2003-212724

10. C. Barbiera, B. Delauréb, A. Laviec “Strategic research agenda for high-altitude aircraft and

airship remote sensing applications”

11. Persistent High Altitude Aerial Platforms & Payloads Private Industry & Defense Applications

Forecast 2009, Homeland Security Research Corporation (HSRC).

12. Dr. A.R Upadhya, ML Sidana, Jitendra Singh “Lighter than Air Systems: High Altitude Airship

and its Potential applications” National Convention of Aerospace Engineers, Institutions of

Engineer(India), Jaipur, November 2010

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• Department of Science & Technology (DST) for having funded the project “Detailed Project

Report: High Altitude Airship”.

• Participating Institutions for their valuable inputs: Integrated Defence Services (IDS), NTRO,

NAL, DRDO, ADRDE, NRSC, IMD, ISRO, TIFR, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IISc, NMRL, Survey

of India, and Geological Survey of India.

• Organizations from abroad: Sky spectrum, Geo Eye, ITT, Lockheed Martin

• Apart from NAL Scientists, special mention of following Scientists for their interactions in

respective areas of expertise.

• Prof. Rajkumar Pant, IIT Bombay

• Prof. R.K.Manchanda, TIFR - National Balloon Facility

• Dr. Mangala Joshi, IIT Delhi

• Dr. P.S. Nair, ISRO

• Dr. P.S. Goel, RAC