The
blimp, called 'Yuanmeng', is billed by the Chinese media as the world's
first airship to be built equipped with sustainable energy panels and
whose flight can be controlled remotely, according to a report by People's Daily Online.
The
ship, which will be able to carry out data relay, communication,
high-def observation and spatial imaging functions, flew for 22 hours at
a peak of 65,000ft during its first test flight in mid-October before
returning to earth.
Ready for take off: The 60,000 cubic feet juggernaut had its first successful test flight in mid-October
The
project to design and launch the 60,000 cubic feet behemoth - the same
volume as ten professional swimming pools - was jointly developed by
Nanjiang Space and Beijing University of Astronautics and Aeronautics
(BeiHang).
The
bright silver craft, which was lifted into the skies using helium, runs
on the solar energy it generates through its panels during orbit and
can carry up to around 660 lbs of weight on board.
'Near-space'
is a region of the Earth's atmosphere between 65,000 ft and 328,000 ft,
and is too high for traditional aircraft to penetrate safely.
'The
biggest challenge for the near-space airship is the big temperature
difference in the day and night,' said Yu Quan, an academic from the
Chinese Academy of Engineering - an issue that the new craft is trying
to solve.
Uncharted territory: Tapping into the near-space region of the atmosphere interests China and the US greatly
Years of work: Scientists and researchers from BeiHang University helped to make the dream a reality
Liu Dongxu, associate manager of Nanjiang Space, said: 'Near space offers a bridge between aviation and space exploration.'
'We
had little previous experience to draw upon in terms of the environment
we are dealing with. It has very specific requirements for the material
and the overall performance of the aircraft.'
Finding
precisely the right material to allow the craft to reach near-space has
been a challenge for scientists over recent years, but it appears that
the problem is nearing a solution.
Interestingly,
given China's recent history of purely designing space technologies for
military uses, it has been announced that the new craft will be used
for civilian purposes as well.
China
has made no secret of its desire to innovate in the field of space
exploration, crystallised in the promise made by President Xi Jinping to
pursue to 'space dream of the Chinese nation' in 2013.
Masterplan: Liu Dongxu of joint designers Nanjiang Space said called the ship 'a bridge to space exploration'
Eco-friendly: The ship is entirely powered by its solar panels, here being affixed to it by the ship's constructors
Expert scientists have previously estimated that China spends over $1 billion dollars (roughly $6 billion yuan) on its space programme every year.
The
first portion of China's long awaited space station, Tiangong 2, could
be launched as early as next year, as well plans for three more blimp
test flights to be sent into near space during 2016.
The
purported success of the appropriately-named 'Yuanmeng' - which
translates as 'to fulfill a dream' in English - may come as a surprise
to NASA, which launched a contest to design and build a similar craft at
the end of 2014.
Entries
for the agency's '20-20-20 Airship contest' were meant to be submitted
by January this year, but no results or updates from the contest's
organisers have so far been announced.
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