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Aurora also claims the Odysseus will be the world's first zero-emission aircraft. The plane will be flown more like a satellite than an actual plane, with operators working from a remote control room rather than at the helm with a joystick. Boeing and Lockheed Martin were also awarded DARPA grants to develop ultra high endurance aircraft but have released only limited information about their designs. Boeing plans to develop an unmanned design, similar to the Odysseus, that is solar powered and has no fuselage but is one giant wing. Lockheed Martin's design, according to its Vulture Program manager Derek Bye, will incorporate "environmental energy harvesting and storage concepts" to power a single 300-foot unmanned aircraft. Whoever develops the plane, there are many advantages of a high altitude, semi-permanent plane over a satellite, according Boeing's Vulture Program Manager Pat O'Neil. Planes can be repaired if damaged, equipped with the latest sensors, and can be easily repositioned. A plane that can stay aloft for five years could continuously monitor anything from terrorist camps to global climate change, depending how it is equipped. Today only expensive geosynchronous satellites that orbit more than 22,200 miles above the surface of Earth have that capability. Langford also notes that communications are the first thing that goes down during a natural disaster and that Vulture planes could coordinate rescue efforts when cell towers and land lines are destroyed. The Vulture could also extend the radio range of firefighters. It will be at least a year before even scaled-down versions any of the companies' planes are flying. Related Links: Eric Bland's blog: What the Tech? Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Vulture initiative |
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