Over the last few days we’re been assembling the Ascender 9 airship in her new digs. first was the truss assemble, then an envelope only (no guts) test inflation.
Over the next few days we’ll be installing systems.
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Orbital Ascender
Pics of our X vehicle above and below with an artists conception of our goal in the middle.
Just trying to keep focused on a Monday. -
Next Stop the Edge of Space
The next step on the air beam is to haul it up to 100,000 feet and test it. Saturday we test fit the beam on a High Rack balloon platform. This spring we’ll send it up.
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Air Beam Rib
This shows one of our early air beams being used as a rib in one of our Ascender airships.
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Student Day
It was a student day at JPA Saturday. They jumped in on installing submarine parts and testing the new air beam.
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Air Beam Development
The team put the new air beam through it’s paces last weekend. Air beams will eventually replace the carbon trusses we use in our airships and Dark Sky Stations. We loaded the new beam with 48 pound of weights with only 1.2 psi internal pressure.
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Away 127 Flies!
Success! The Away 127 mission flew Sunday morning.
The vehicle has been recovered & the team is home safe and sound.
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Heading up top!
The team is rolling to the desert! Tomorrow morning we fly Away 127. This will be flight no. 192. On board will be over 300 PongSats, airship experiments and two customer payloads.It’s going to 17 degrees during prep. brrrr.Wish us luck! -
Ascender 36 Gets Upgrades
Ascender 9 is dissembled and back at the shop. We have the hanger for a few more days so we got some work in on Ascender 36.
Even through the new airship is a lot bigger, the smaller Ascender 36 still has a lot to tell us.
