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By Jamie Whitney
and the use of solar cells to power the propulsion system during the day and a battery system to keep Odysseus aloft at night.
"The idea of a plane that can fly forever, pollution-free, completely eco-friendly – it's something that captures the imagination of people around the world," said John Langford, President and Chief Executive Officer. Aurora. "Ulysses is a dream plane we've been working on for about 30 years."
In 1988, Langford and an MIT team took part in the Daedalus Project, which sets distance and human-powered flight records with a 72-km flight between the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini. Ulysses, named after the hero of Homer's Odyssey, links two projects to shared trips across the Greek islands.
The overflight capability of the platform will be used to monitor the Earth's climate change researchers well below Ulysses. "Ulysses is able to stay in the air for a long time and stay stationed at specific locations. Because of this, he is able to relay voice, Internet and other forms of communication, "said deputy program director Mor Gilad. Langford, President and CEO of Aurora. "Ulysses is a dream plane we've been working on for about 30 years."
The chassis of the autonomous flight platform consists of carbon fiber trusses and is covered with a polyvinyl fluoride-resistant UV-resistant film deposited under the Tedlar brand by developer DuPont. Langford, President and CEO of Aurora. "Ulysses is a dream plane we've been working on for about 30 years."
James G. Anderson, professor of atmospheric chemistry at Harvard University, said the new platform would contribute to research on climate change. "The Odysseus aircraft is exactly what it takes to catalyze very quickly the progress of climate research through the use of lasers to determine the species that control ozone, the use of radar to determine the volume and flow of ice, to determine the moisture, "explained the professor. "All of these things turn out to be the most important things you can do. Ulysses will tackle these problems like never before. Langford, President and CEO of Aurora. "Ulysses is a dream plane we've been working on for about 30 years."
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Aurora has identified four key factors to enhance its persistence capabilities: 1. Ulysses can remain persistent and autonomous in the station. This allows communication and collection of data on a specific location. No other solar aircraft offers this capability. 2. Ulysses has a larger global operation area all year than any other vehicle in its class. 3. Odysseus can carry a larger payload than any other aircraft in development or production of its class. This allows to have more missions and to improve the quality of the data resulting from each mission. 4. Ulysses can be deployed at a fraction of the cost of a satellite and can spend much more time at altitude than a conventional UAV. It can receive hardware and payload options and can be quickly customized, redefined and redefined according to the evolution of missions.
In addition to assisting with climate research, Aurora plans to use Odysseus' persistent flight capability to participate in a wide range of communications, connectivity and intelligence missions and operations. Aurora expects Odysseus to take off for the first time in spring 2019.
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