STS-111 – Unmanned Airship For Maiden Flight
Sanswire-TAO Corp. (www.sanswiretao.com), the airship development and
manufacturing joint venture equally owned by Sanswire Corp. (OTCBB: SNSR,
www.sanswire.com) and TAO Technologies GmbH, have announced initial free flight test plans for the STS-111 Mid Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
Focused on the spiral development model, Sanswire-TAO recently reached an altitude of 4,800 feet and a safely controlled descent in flight-testing of its seventy-six-foot (76 ft) scaled prototype airship. In addition, the company tested the aerodynamics and the maneuverability of the airship during flights utilizing the newly invented Adaptive Trim System (ATS). The ATS will be used exclusively on the STS segmented airship line to automatically sense and alter the craft’s center of gravity throughout flight.
On location in Germany, the company is also constructing the necessary infrastructure at the flight field to accommodate the testing of the full-scale version of the STS-111, including a hangar. Given the STS-111’s rapid launch capability, when used in the field the airship will not require this kind of infrastructure support. In addition, Sanswire-TAO is also installing and preparing ground stations and a maintenance and operations workshop. The first flight of the full scale STS-111 is expected to take place at the end of August with operational testing starting shortly there after. Testing will begin with ground handling, takeoff and landing procedure and progress into full flight operational testing.
“Our spiral development model utilized by Sanswire TAO Corp. has been extremely effective at moving our tests forward efficiently and cost effectively,” said David A. Christian, Chief Executive Officer of Sanswire. “The various tests we have conducted to date on the prototype have all been successfully completed and we have every reason to believe the first flight of the full scale STS-111 will be an overwhelming success as well.
Additionally, we remain focused on our other strategic initiatives including working closely on the command and control systems and payload integration plans for the airship. We are confident we will continue to achieve the other milestones we have set for ourselves and continue to work towards the successful completion of the flight testing and commercialization of STS-111 airship.” [Sanswire Corp]
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