We completed the full system integration test yesterday on the Ascender 9 airship. It took 12 hours but the team pulled it off. All the pumps, valves, vents, motors, props and telemetry and on board network got put through there paces. We even put a 200 cubic feet of helium in the aft internal cell and pumped it back and forth between cells. This actually is a fairly complex vehicle.
Ascender 8from behind.
Anthony setting up the systems test before we inflated the airship.
Kevin and Eric getting a motor installed.
Paul inspecting the outer envelope during inflation.