[E285]China Successfully Tests Self-Developed Near Space Craft

China Successfully Tests Self-Developed Near Space Craft

From CRIENGLISH.com

On a cold October day this year in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region[内蒙古自治区], about 100 scientists were busy preparing to test their independently developed high-altitude airship[自主研发高空飞艇].

After a 22 hour flight around 20 kilometers[20000m] above the earth, the airship successfully landed.

The project was jointly developed by Beijing University of Astronautics and Aeronautics[北京航空航天大学] and Chinese company Nanjiang Space.

Associate Manager[副经理,副处长] of Nanjiang Space Liu Dongxu says the test flight opened a new territory[开创新的领域] in China's aerospace development[航宇发展].

"Near space[临近空间;近太空] offers a bridge between aviation[航空；飞行术] and space exploration[太空探索；空间探索；外层空间探索]. Few projects have been conducted in this area. We had little previous experience to draw pon[利用;开出;总结;凭借;依靠] in terms of the environment we are dealing with. It has very specific requirements[特殊要求] for the material and the overall performance[整体性能] of the aircraft[飞机，航空器]. "

Airplanes[飞机] can fly within 20 kilometers above the earth, while satellites[卫星;人造卫星] operate above 100 kilometers from the ground. That leaves the middle section called near space, or stratosphere[平流层], which is yet to be utilized[利用] by humans.

Countries including Japan and the US have been vying to[竞相做某事] conquer[攻克] this space in recent years.

The Chinese airship is named Yuanmeng, or "to fulfill a dream", referring to the Chinese dream to independently design and produce a near space ship[独立设计、制造临近空间飞艇的中国梦].

Liu says the blimp[软式气艇/小型飞船] is 75 meters long, has a volume[体积] of 18,000 cubic meters[立方米] and a longest diameter of 24 meters. It can carry up to 300 kilograms in weight.

Finding the right material[合适的材料] to enable long-duration[长期,长持续时间] flight has proven a challenge for scientists. The Chinese airship is filled with helium[氦], so the frame[框架] of the ship must be also very light to allow it to float.

"The materials of the airship must be able to balance[平衡] or cancel out[取消；抵销] the load of the aircraft itself[飞艇本身的负荷]. So we used high strength fiber[高强度纤维] in building the blimp. Secondly, the material must ensure very low levels of helium leakage[氦漏失]. So we designed and produced the material based on these specifications."

Solar batteries[太阳(能)电池组] are used to power the ship, which carries a volume equaling around 10 professional swimming pools[专业游泳池]. To lighten[减轻] the weight of the batteries, scientists used membrane-like[膜状] designs to power the ship.

Compared to planes and satellites, airships[飞艇] offer much lower costs. They do not need airports and can be used repeatedly. Most importantly, they can stay over a specific location for extended periods of time[更长的时间], which make them very useful in traffic[交通] or environmental monitoring[环境监测；环境监控]. They also offer great potential in communications[通讯], intelligence gathering[情报收集；情报搜集], electronic suppression[压制性电子干扰/电子压制] and early warning systems[预警系统].

The team behind the airship is already planning to commercially test[商业上测试] the technology. Zhu Ming, Associate Professor[副教授] at the Beijing University of Astronautics and Aeronautics says near space airships[临近空间飞艇] could prove very useful in civil missions.

"We look at the ships as low-altitude[低高度;低空] and stationery satellites, and they will be more useful in providing civil services. For example, the blimps can carry communication base stations[通信基站] and provide continued 4G services to coastal[沿海的；海岸的] or certain other areas. "

The team plans to send three more ships to near space in 2016.