The Lighter-Than-Air Society

Source: Wired.com

By Noah Shachtman

After spending more than $140 million, the Air Force is poised to pull the plug on its ambitious project to send a king-sized, all-seeing spy blimp to Afghanistan. Continue reading →

Source: Aero News Network

Four Months On-station Persistence PredictedGlobal Near Space Services (GNSS) of Colorado Springs, CO, and Bye Aerospace of Denver, CO, jointly announced continued progress in the development of a unique solar-electric-powered airship named StarLight. Continue reading →

Sourced: Wired.com

By Ben Paynter – Wired 

This spring NASA plans to test its first starshade—a disk-shaped screen that blocks light from the atmosphere to give astronomers a better view of distant planets. Continue reading →

Source: Asbury Park Press

‘Flying lab’ used for military research, testing

By:  Kirk Moore | Staff Writer

Just four months after its formal acceptance by the Navy, the MZ-3A airship at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is now to be deflated and stored, and the program suspended amid the overall search to save money in the Department of Defense. Continue reading →

Source: Naval Research Laboratory

  The Naval Research Laboratory Vehicle Research Section has successfully completed flight tests for the Autonomous Deployment Demonstration (ADD) program. The final demonstration took place Sept. 1 at the Yuma Proving Grounds, Yuma, Ariz., and consisted of a series of eight balloon-drops at altitudes of up to 57,000 ft, delivering sensor-emplacement Close-In Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft (CICADA) vehicles within 15 feet of their intended landing locations. Continue reading →