Container 12 is a cabin of a gas balloon, Container 12 has Main Body 121, which is an airtight container for accommodating Crew Member H1 and is filled with Air 122, Heat Transfer Member 125 made of a material that has a high thermal conductivity such as aluminum and that covers the inside of Main Body 121 and is partially in contact with Heat Absorber Holder 123, Heat Absorber Holder 123 that is a container made of a material that has a high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, and is located outside of Main Body 121, and Heat Absorber 124 contained in Heat Absorber Holder 123. Heat generated by Crew Member H1 is transferred via Air 122 to Heat Transfer Member 125 and then to Heat Absorber Holder 123. Heat Absorber 124 absorbs heat from Heat Absorber Holder 123 as heat of vaporization and changes from a liquid to a gas.

The present invention reduces a probability of condensation forming in a container for a flying object. Container 12 is a cabin of a gas balloon. Container 12 comprises Main Body 121 that is an airtight container filled with air and accommodating Crew Member H1, and Partition 122 that divides the space in Main Body 121 into Space S1 and Space S2. Partition 122 has one or more narrow Holes H. When the altitude of the flying object increases and Container 12 cools from the outside, air in Space S1 cools more slowly than the air in Space S2. A pressure difference between Space S1 and Space S2 is rapidly equalized by air flow through Holes H, but it takes a long time to equalize a temperature difference between Space S1 and Space S2. Therefore, a temperature in Space S1 becomes higher than a temperature in Space S2, and a temperature in Space S2 becomes higher than a temperature in the space outside Main Body 121. As a result, condensation is unlikely to form in Partition 122 and in the portion of Main Body 121 that forms Space S2.

The present invention reduces a probability of condensation forming in a container for a flying object. Container 12 is a cabin of a gas balloon. Container 12 comprises Main Body 121 that is an airtight container filled with air and accommodating Crew Member H1, and Partition 122 that divides the space in Main Body 121 into Space S1 and Space S2. Partition 122 has one or more narrow Holes H. When the altitude of the flying object increases and Container 12 cools from the outside, air in Space S1 cools more slowly than the air in Space S2. A pressure difference between Space S1 and Space S2 is rapidly equalized by air flow through Holes H, but it takes a long time to equalize a temperature difference between Space S1 and Space S2. Therefore, a temperature in Space S1 becomes higher than a temperature in Space S2, and a temperature in Space S2 becomes higher than a temperature in the space outside Main Body 121. As a result, condensation is unlikely to form in Partition 122 and in the portion of Main Body 121 that forms Space S2.

An intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system is disclosed including a ground station and one or more aerial vehicles. The aerial vehicles are autonomous systems capable of communicating intelligence data to the ground station and be used as part of a missile delivery package. A plurality of aerial vehicles can be configured to cast a wide net of reconnaissance over a large area on the ground including smaller overlapping reconnaissance areas provided by each of the plurality of the aerial vehicles.

An intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system is disclosed including a ground station and one or more aerial vehicles. The aerial vehicles are autonomous systems capable of communicating intelligence data to the ground station and be used as part of a missile delivery package. A plurality of aerial vehicles can be configured to cast a wide net of reconnaissance over a large area on the ground including smaller overlapping reconnaissance areas provided by each of the plurality of the aerial vehicles.

Aspects of the technology relate to lighter-than-air (LTA) high altitude platforms configured to operate in the stratosphere. Such platforms can generate operate for weeks, months or longer. Shaped envelope LTA platforms may support a payload that provides telecommunications and/or other services to remote regions around the world. The payload may be arranged with other components on a modular bus-type chassis. One or more components may be moveable along the chassis to change the pitch of the vehicle for more effective flight operation. The modular chassis may include a truss configuration assembled from one or more subunits. The subunits may be preassembled with different equipment packages. Trusses formed using sets of struts may have two or more struts terminating at one interconnection node. Node connection elements, such as compound dovetail interconnects, facilitate a reliable, repeatable and quick mounting method for structural interconnections, which can lead to faster assembly and disassembly times.

A hybrid airship-aerostat includes a hull, a motor, a fin, a controller, and a bridle system. The motor is coupled to the hull and is configured to rotate between a thrust configuration and a lift configuration. The motor is configured to generate a lift force, a thrust force, or a combination thereof. The fin is coupled to a tail of the hull and is configured to provide directional control of the hull. The controller is configured to operate the motor and the fin to pilot the hull. The bridle system is configured to removably couple to a first end of a tether.

A hybrid airship-aerostat includes a hull, a motor, a fin, a controller, and a bridle system. The motor is coupled to the hull and is configured to rotate between a thrust configuration and a lift configuration. The motor is configured to generate a lift force, a thrust force, or a combination thereof. The fin is coupled to a tail of the hull and is configured to provide directional control of the hull. The controller is configured to operate the motor and the fin to pilot the hull. The bridle system is configured to removably couple to a first end of a tether.

Systems and methods for visual inspection of a container such as an oil tank via a lighter-than-air aircraft are presented. According to one aspect, the aircraft includes a gondola attached to a balloon filled with lighter-than-air gas. Rigidly attached to the gondola is a suite of sensors, including a camera sensor, an inertial measurement unit and a range sensor. Navigation of the aircraft is based on information sensed by the suite of sensors and processed by control electronics arranged in the gondola. Embedded in the control electronics is an extended Kalman filter that calculates pose estimates of the aircraft based on the information sensed by the inertial measurement unit and updated by the camera sensor. The extended Kalman filter uses the information sensed by the range sensor to reduce uncertainty in the calculated pose estimate. Images captured by the camera sensor can be used to evaluate state of the container.

Systems and methods for visual inspection of a container such as an oil tank via a lighter-than-air aircraft are presented. According to one aspect, the aircraft includes a gondola attached to a balloon filled with lighter-than-air gas. Rigidly attached to the gondola is a suite of sensors, including a camera sensor, an inertial measurement unit and a range sensor. Navigation of the aircraft is based on information sensed by the suite of sensors and processed by control electronics arranged in the gondola. Embedded in the control electronics is an extended Kalman filter that calculates pose estimates of the aircraft based on the information sensed by the inertial measurement unit and updated by the camera sensor. The extended Kalman filter uses the information sensed by the range sensor to reduce uncertainty in the calculated pose estimate. Images captured by the camera sensor can be used to evaluate state of the container.