夜间也能飞 波音公司的太阳能气候研究无人机于2019年开通起飞

Aurora Flight Sciences, a pioneer in experimental flying vehicles that became a Boeing subsidiary last year, says its solar-powered*, high-altitude, long-endurance* Odysseus drone will take on its first flight in the spring of 2019.

Odysseus has been years in the making, part of an effort that dates back to the Daedalus Project in the 1980s, before Aurora was founded.

“Aurora was founded by the idea that technology and innovation can provide powerful solutions to tough problems that affect all of humankind,” John Langford, Aurora’s president and CEO, said this week in a news release.

Aviation Week reported that Odysseus’ first flight has been scheduled to take place in Puerto Rico on April 23, 2019, the anniversary of Daedalus’ Aegean flight.

The first battery-powered test craft is currently undergoing ground testing, and two more solar-powered aircraft are in the works.

Aurora says the aircraft can be deployed at a fraction of the cost of a satellite, and can spend far more time aloft* than a conventional drone — on the order of months.

“Odysseus offers persistence like no other solar aircraft of its kind, which is why it is such a capable and necessary platform for researchers,” Langford said. “Odysseus will indeed change the world.”

Odysseus will function as an autonomous observational platform for climate and atmospheric research.

However, Odysseus can also serve as a platform for surveillance*, communication and connectivity.

(SD-Agencies)