DANS LE CIEL DE MAUBEUGE

L'HISTOIRE DES SKYSHIPS "Moving Mountains" par Alastair Reid

Il s'agit du premier de deux volumes qui racontent l'histoire des dirigeables    d' Airship industries, la haute technologie des Skyships. En commençant par l'étude du géant pour Shell gaz international, Le volume 1 retrace l'évolution des dirigeables AD 500 et SK 600 détail leurs tests, essais et les applications commerciales. Le livre retrace leur emploi ultérieur en Europe, Amérique, Australie et Japon, et se termine par un regard sur quelques concepts.

This is the first of two volumes that set out to record the story of Airship Industries, and their high technology 'Skyships'. Starting with the giant Shell International gas carrier design concept, Volume One traces the development of the AD 500 and SK 600 airships and examines their tests, trials and commercial applications. The book reviews their subsequent employment in Europe, America, Australia and Japan,and concludes with a look at some later design concepts

Couverture souple, 598 Pages

A commander sur le site :

http://www.lulu.com/shop/alastair-reid/moving-mountains-volume-1/paperback/product-20446121.html

Airship Ventures, the Mountain View company that took passengers on joy rides in what it billed as the world's largest passenger airship, the Zeppelin Eureka, is closing, the firm said Thursday.

Company officials said they would cease operations out of Moffett Field immediately and plan to provide refunds to customers who have already booked flights.

Le 3 juillet dernier, la société Voliris a réalisé le permier vol du prototype de dirigeable ULM classe 5 : Voliris V901C. Ce prototype est destiné à valider le concept d'aile enveloppe qui est en fait une architecture volante à mi chemin entre l'aile d'un avion et l'enveloppe d'un dirigeable. On parle alors d'aéronef hybride. L'hybride fait appel aussi bien à la portance aérostatique due au gaz porteur, qu'à la portance aérodynamique due à la forme de l'aile. L'enveloppe tri-lobe réalisée en textile nylon enduit de polyuréthane contient 900 m3 d'hélium. La nacelle biplace supporte un moteur 912 S ; Gérard Durand tentra prochainement d'atteindre 150 km/h à 5 200 tr/mn, ce qui constituera un record mondial de vitesse pour un tel aéronef (le précédent record appartient au regretté Steve Fossett qui a établi une vitesse de 112 km/h en dirigeable le 27 octobre 2004). En terme financier, l'aventure Voliris tient à des projets futurs sur lesquels des investisseurs apportent un soutien indispensable : prototype estimé à 700 000 euros ; gaz hélium 10 800 euros ; perte quotidienne de gaz 40 euros ; durée de vie de l'enveloppe 7 à 10 ans. Ce prototype préfigure un engin automatique porte container standard de 30 tonnes fonctionnant complètement à l'hydrogène, dans le cadre du R&D ''Moyens de transport aériens de demain''.

http://www.voliris.com/Actualites.php

http://www.ulmag.fr/actu2/lire_actu_anchor.php?n=1207061818

LEMV was rolled out  at Joint Base of Lakehurst (formerly Naval Air Station Lakehurst) on the morning of 3 July 2012.

http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/lemv/

Blue Devil 2   "MI 1400"

Make or Break Time for Blue Devil 2

Following are the most recent M1400 pics. No additional progress has been made subsequent to these photos as a result of the Air Force direction to suspend development activities. As of this writing, the airship is still inflated, and we still hold out some hope of transitioning the program to an alternate service sponsor. But the final outcome is still very much up in the air – no pun intended

http://www.defensenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012306190008

Blue Devil Airship Maker Sends SOS After Air Force Says Pack It Up

www.mav6.com/Mav6-Blue-Devil-Airship.pdf

Objectives 

PEGASOS brings together most of the leading European research groups, with state-of the-art observational and modeling facilities to:
•Quantify the magnitude of regional to global feedbacks between atmospheric chemistry and a changing climate and to reduce the corresponding uncertainty of the major ones.
•Identify mitigation strategies and policies to improve air quality while limiting their impact on climate change.

http://pegasos.iceht.forth.gr/

http://eu-pegasos.blogspot.fr/

http://twitter.com/#!/EUPEGASOS

http://www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/Home/home_node.html

L'étude européenne sur l'interaction des gaz aérosols sur le climat (Pegasos)

objectifs

PEGASOS regroupe la plupart des principaux groupes de recherche européens, avec l'état de l'art-observation et de modélisation pour les installations:
• Quantifier l'ampleur de la régionale aux rétroactions globales entre la chimie atmosphérique et le changement climatique et à réduire l'incertitude correspondante parmi les plus importantes.
• Identifier des stratégies d'atténuation et de politiques visant à améliorer la qualité de l'air tout en limitant leur impact sur ​​le changement climatique.

EU Atmospheric Research Airship PEGASOS Takes Off

European climate (Belgium) scientists today began a mission to investigate the relationship between atmospheric chemistry and climate change above the skies of Europe. The EU-funded research project PEGASOS (Pan-European Gas AeroSOl Climate Interaction Study) involves twenty-six partners from twelve EU member states and Israel, Switzerland and Norway. Over 20 weeks, the PEGASOS team will fly an airship across Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and France to analyse the chemistry of the air. The project's findings are expected to provide a sound scientific basis to better fight climate change and improve air quality in Europe.

European Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "According to the European Environmental Agency, the health and environmental cost of air pollutants released every year in Europe exceeds €100 billion. EU-funded research such as PEGASOS will give us better understanding of the issue and provide a valuable contribution to the review of EU air policies due in 2013".

The PEGASOS project will investigate the impacts of European air pollution on climate change and vice versa by combining field measurements with state of the art atmospheric and climate models. Thanks to the airship's unique flight characteristics, the scientists will have an unprecedented view of how pollution is distributed in the lowest one or two kilometres of the atmosphere. It is in this layer that most pollutants emitted on the ground react with other atmospheric actors. Carrying measuring equipment weighing more than 1 tonne, the airship will be able to hover at this altitude, ascend and descend vertically, and fly for up to 24 hours at a time.

During their mission, the scientists will focus on hydroxyl radicals (OH radicals) and minute aerosols, which exert a major impact on climate and health. Hydroxyl radicals are sometimes called “detergents of the atmosphere” since they trigger the degradation of pollutants. Data on their formation and their contribution to climatic processes are expected to provide researchers with new insights, for instance on how the atmosphere cleanses itself. This will feed into the review of EU air policies due in 2013 and the work of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

After months of preparation and equipment testing, the project was launched at a ceremony at the airship's home base in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany. During its first mission, starting May 14, the airship will travel north to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, to take measurements in the region until May 27. Beginning in June, the airship will take the east route around the Alps to Italy, where measurements will be taken in the Po Valley and above the Adriatic. On the return flight, the Zeppelin will take the west route around the Alps via France. Finally, in April 2013, the atmospheric researchers will set out on another two-month mission over northern Europe to Hyytiälä in Finland. Both the mission routes and the measuring locations have been coordinated with existing ground measuring stations. In this way, researchers can directly compare data from the flight with stationary measurements.

http://www.envirotech-online.com/news/air-monitoring/6/european_commission/eu_atmospheric_research_airship_pegasos_takes_off/20015/

NASA, SETI Use Airship to Hunt Meteorites From Big Fireball    07 May 2012

In what must be a meteorite-hunting first, a team of scientists took a zeppelin out Thursday (May 3) to search for fragments from a rare daytime fireball that exploded over California last month..

As the zeppelin cruised over the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada mountains at an altitude of about 1,000 feet (300 meters), the scientists scanned the ground for any signs of recent impact craters. Their aim: to find fragments of the minivan-size space rock that slammed into Earth's atmosphere on April 22.

http://www.livescience.com/20132-meteorite-fireball-airship-search.html

Zeppelin Searches for California Meteorite

Scientists are using a zeppelin to do a slow search for signs of fragments left by the April 22nd Sutter's Mill meteorite. John Matson reports

Gold Country is now meteorite country. On May 3rd scientists inspected the northern California countryside from the air for fragments of the so-called Sutter’s Mill meteorite. The minivan-size space rock streaked through the atmosphere over the West Coast on April 22nd. Witnesses saw a visible trail in the sky in daylight.

NASA scientists and volunteers soon recovered fragments near Sutter’s Mill, site of the beginning of the California gold rush. Some 20 pieces of the meteorite had already been found by May 3rd, but the scientists were eager to collect more.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=zeppelin-searches-for-california-me-12-05-08

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/04/4464952/meteor-here-jkdkjdffdeck-here.html?storylink=lingospot_related_articles

http://www.space.com/15555-meteorite-fireball-airship-search.html

NASA Technology Transfer Opportunity: Power Technology For High Altitude AirshipsNASA

Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA solicits interest from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use.

THE TECHNOLOGY:

NASA Langley researchers have developed a unique concept for providing electrical power to high-altitude airships (HAA). These airships are intended to remain aloft at high altitudes for extended periods of time for various potential scientific, commercial, and defense uses. Powering HAA presents a challenge due to the extended periods between possible refueling and the weight restrictions of these lighter-than-air airships. The NASA approach combines the high-performance thermal energy harvesting capabilities of advanced thermoelectric materials with a novel elliptical airship cross-section to maximize solar gain.

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=40778

Luftschiff „Bodensee“ erstrahlt in neuem Glanz

Nach zehnmonatiger Wiederaufbauzeit startete heute das Luftschiff „Bodensee“ um 10.46 Uhr erfolgreich zu seinem ersten Werkstattflug, teilt die Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei mit. „Die Fertigstellung des Luftschiffs liegt im Zeitplan“, sagt Geschäftsführer Thomas Brandt. Im Zweischiffbetrieb will die Zeppelin-Reederei den Markt der wissenschaftlichen Forschung stärker bedienen sowie das Passagiergeschäft absichern. In den kommenden zwei Wochen werde der Zeppelin NT „Bodensee“ für den bevorstehenden Einsatz im EU-Klimaforschungsprojekt „Pegasos“ mit Messgeräten ausgerüstet.

Nach einer Sunde und acht Minuten kehrte die „Bodensee“ erfolgreich zur Werft zurück, heißt es in der Mitteilung weiter. Der Zeppelin NT werde mit der Seriennummer SN002R geführt, da es sich um einen Wiederaufbau handelt. Bis 2010 war das Luftschiff im Besitz einer japanischen Betreibergesellschaft. Für den Aufbau habe die Zeppelin-Mannschaft in großem Maße die ursprünglichen Teile genutzt.

Während der internationalen Luftfahrtmesse „Aero“ habe man das Luftschiff vor der Zeppelin-Werft erstmals bewundern können. Denn bevor es seinen ersten Flug absolvieren konnte, waren umfangreiche Systemprüfungen und Konfigurationen im Standlauf am Mast erforderlich. Luftfahrtprüfer und Mechaniker der ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik unternahmen beispielsweise die Feineinstellung der Motoren und Propeller sowie der Leitwerke und Ruder. Auch elektronische Systeme mussten in den vergangenen Tagen noch genau justiert werden.

http://www.suedkurier.de/region/bodenseekreis-oberschwaben/friedrichshafen/Luftschiff-Bodensee-erstrahlt-in-neuem-Glanz;art372474,5482947

http://www.schwaebische.de/region/bodensee/friedrichshafen/stadtnachrichten-friedrichshafen_artikel,-Japan-Zeppelin-hebt-ab-_arid,5245370.html

Blue Devil Block II

http://edgefighter.com/

Airship flies again   Mar. 20, 2012

Emblazoned with its 1920s-style fin insignia and black letters reading “U.S. NAVY,” the MZ-3A military research airship cruised Ocean County skies again as a new agreement is prepared to keep the blimp and its crew working for at least another year.

“We’re in the final stages of inking an agreement with the Army. It will be for a year,” said Doug Abbotts, a spokesman for Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Md.

http://www.app.com/article/20120320/NJNEWS/303200053/Airship-flies-again

Zeppelin to Get Radar for Airship Ventures Special Mission Group   2012-03-15

Adding even more versatility to its special mission capabilities, Airship Ventures announced today that they have received FAA approval and completed operational testing of a Raymarine Radar for use on its Zeppelin Eureka. Radar adds the ability for the airship and its special missions partners to collect real-time range, speed and directional information on objects from a distance of up to 48 miles in all directions, covering over 7,000 square miles at a time.

“As airships become more prominent in scientific, research and security communities, we’ve made a strategic commitment to be the market leader and offer a spectrum of advanced technologies on our platforms, as well as a team capable of applying those technologies in groundbreaking ways,” noted Airship Ventures Special Missions Manager Francis Govers. “Pursuing radar certification is just one advanced capability we’ve added, along with infrared, acoustic and laser sensors, in support of this goal.”

The approval comes at a good time for Airship Ventures Special Missions Group, which is undergoing a period of growth and carving out a position of leadership in a burgeoning airship renaissance that has seen the U.S. government pledge over $1 billion to advancing lighter-than-air technology and projects.

http://www.everythinglongbeach.com/zeppelin-to-get-radar-for-airship-ventures-special-mission-group/

Airship Paris lance des vols en dirigeable autour de Paris   mercredi 14 mars 2012

http://www.aerobuzz.fr/spip.php?article2549

Communiqué de presse, février 2012

Airship Paris lance le premier vol commercial en dirigeable autour de Paris

et signe un contrat d'exclusivité avec le fabriquant Zeppelin

La signature a eu lieu le 14 février dernier à Friedrichshafen en Allemagne dans les locaux de Zeppelin, fabricant de dirigeable depuis 1900. Eric Lopez, Président d'Airship Paris, et Thomas Brandt, PDG de Zeppelin, ont signé un contrat pour la location d'un dirigeable jusqu'en 2015 suivi d'un achat par Airship Paris pour un montant de 16,8 millions d'euros.

http://www.espacedatapresse.com/fil_datapresse/consultation_cp.jsp?ant=reseau_2733769

Air Force shoots down its own Afghan super-spy    02 March, 2012

"the Blue Devil Block 2 blimp"

A lot of hot air comes out of Washington, but for now none of it will be inflating the surveillance blimp that the Pentagon has been working on. Research has been halted on the Blue Devil Block 2 — but only after spending $140 million on it already.

At this rate, it looks like the Air Force’s 370-foot-long Blue Devil Block 2 will never get off the ground. The Pentagon has already spent millions of dollars on the massive aircraft, but with the price tag now expected to amount to a figure substantially larger than originally assumed, the latest budget figures reveal that the Air Force won’t be allocating any funds for further research.

Until now, the Blue Devil Block 2 blimp was slated for deployment on April 15. The plan was to put the big balloon over the skies of Afghanistan, where its DARPA-developed technology would allow the US Defense Department to scan 36 miles at a time from an elevation exceeding 20,000 feet from the ground. DefenseSystems.com reported last October that Air Force officials were weary that Congress wouldn’t cut them a check to keep the project going, which was then expected to cost $211 million.

http://rt.com/usa/news/air-force-now-devil-717/

Navy will mothball revived airship program   Wednesday Feb 22, 2012

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

“It is being deflated. It’s not that we have a lack of funding. We have a lack of mission,” said Doug Abbotts, a spokesman at the Naval Air Systems Command center at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

News of the decision left program supporters crestfallen.

“We’ve heard rumors. ... This is very disappointing to us,” said Carl Jablonski, president of the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society. The group includes Navy veterans who served during the era of Cold War blimp patrols, and they helped train the MZ-3A contract crew.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/02/gannett-navy-mothball-revived-airship-program-022212/

On the Track of Detergents and Aerosols

http://www.fz-juelich.de/portal/EN/Research/EnergyEnvironment/ClimateResearch/zeppelin/_node.html

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