{"id":7287,"date":"2012-12-11T16:03:16","date_gmt":"2012-12-11T23:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=7287"},"modified":"2012-12-12T13:32:04","modified_gmt":"2012-12-12T20:32:04","slug":"bye-altitude-provides-stratospheric-persistence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/bye-altitude-provides-stratospheric-persistence\/","title":{"rendered":"Bye Aerospace Provides Stratospheric Persistence"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Bye, founder and head of Bye Aerospace<\/a>, introduced the Silent Falcon<\/a> unmanned aerial vehicle earlier this year at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)<\/a> meeting.\u00a0 He has two other relatively low-cost but highly capable offerings which could stretch the limits of unmanned aerial system (UAS) capabilities.<\/p>\n

The first, the Starlight program, involves lifting a variable geometry, solar-powered airplane to great heights with a balloon, hovering with it for up to four months, and releasing it when needed to allow refurbishing, refitting and relaunching.<\/p>\n

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Bye Starlight solar-powered aircraft pulled aloft by large balloon in interesting hybrid arrangement<\/p><\/div>\n

This two-stage system provides the same kind of surveillance offered by a satellite, but at a much lower cost.\u00a0 The balloon is a static device, used only to provide the altitude necessary, and the aircraft needs to provide power sufficient to allow station keeping and run its sensor systems for the period it is at altitude.\u00a0 When launched, the nose and tail-mounted electric motors power the airplane on its way.\u00a0 It can slide its wing panels along a track in the fuselage, reducing area to one high-aspect ratio panel for speed, or expand wing area to three panel width, or chord, slowing the craft but gathering more solar energy to run motors and sensors.<\/p>\n

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Starlight with narrow-wing, high-speed configuration…<\/p><\/div>\n

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and with wide-chord, light-gathering configuration<\/p><\/div>\n

When attached to the airship, the solar panels can articulate up to +\/- 50 degrees to optimize solar collection.\u00a0 The motors are also articulated, and can pivot up to 30 degrees to enhance station keeping.<\/p>\n

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Starlight has nose and tail-mounted vectored motors which can pivot up to 30 degrees<\/p><\/div>\n

Bye acts as a subcontractor to Global Near Space Services (GNSS)<\/a> for the aircraft part of the Starlight system, designated a \u201cstratospheric recovery vehicle\u201d or SRV detachable UAS. \u00a0This is all part of a U. S. Navy research contract to GNSS.<\/p>\n

Phase 1 of Bye\u2019s effort completed conceptual design and \u201csystems trade studies\u201d in 2010.\u00a0 Phase 2 includes detail design of the aircraft and design and assembly of a 40-percent scale SRV test vehicle.<\/p>\n

Bye lists the following specifications:<\/p>\n