UV - Unmanned Vehicles
HiDRON completes flights tests at 82,000ft
UAVOS and Stratodynamics Aviation have successfully completed the next stage of flights tests of the HiDRON earth observation platform to an altitude of 82,000ft, UAVOS announced on 6 February.
The night flight lasted for four hours, including the one-hour weather balloon launch period with an average climb rate at 6.8m/s. The return flight lasted for about three hours. During the test, the system operated in headwinds up to 180km/h, -60° C temperatures, experienced wing icing and returned and landed autonomously.
The HiDRON’s flight stabilisation after balloon release and tuning the UAS controls and components for stratospheric flight were prime objectives of the mission. During the flight, operators checked the performance of the HiDRON’s avionic systems, flight characteristics, safety features, instrument integration and auxiliary tracking systems including a transponder.
The HiDRON also carried atmospheric measurement systems onboard. The payload collected meteorological data with atmospheric instruments and transmitted to the ground station in real-time. The obtained performance data will be used for the next stage of testing at an altitude of 98,000ft.
The HiDRON, a joint project of UAVOS and Stratodynamics Aviation, is a fixed wing glider integrated with meteorological equipment and launched by a stratospheric helium-filled weather balloon. With 3.4m wingspan, the HiDRON weighs under 5kg and is capable of carrying a measurement instrument weighing up to 1kg.
More from Unmanned Vehicles
-
Multi-mission USV proposed as floating comms nexus for CEE region
Boeing, acting through its subsidiary, Liquid Robotics, is offering its Wave Glider USV for countries in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region as a ...
-
ADEX 2019: Korean MALE UAV prototype breaks cover
The Aerospace Business Division of Korean Air (KAL-ASD) showcased a prototype of the KUS-FS strategic MALE UAV at Seoul ADEX 2019, the first time that ...
-
ADEX 2019: Korean UGVs compete for army’s attention
Two competing UGV designs aimed at future applications by the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) were on display at Seoul ADEX 2019, these emanating from ...
-
AUSA 2019: US Army unconcerned by FTUAS hybrid flight kit permutations
The US Army has confirmed it doesn't consider hybrid flight kit licensing authority arrangements to be an issue for its Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) programme, ...
-
AUSA 2019: Qinetiq takes control with new robot controller
QinetiQ North America has shown its new high-definition universal controller (UC-HD) for the first time at AUSA 2019. The UC-HD is a device with a ...
-
AUSA 2019: WAMI pod to take to the skies
US engineering and technology company Logos Technologies has unveiled a new Multi-Modal Sensor Pod (MMSP) at AUSA 2019 and outlined plans for the first flight ...