Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) is delighted to announce the launch of StratSat, an unmanned stratospheric airship with a mobile telephone system that replaces the need for land based mobile phone masts. The prototype vehicle is being launched today.
Can you imagine a world without mobile phone masts -- a countryside no longer scarred by fake trees, an environment that is safe for out children, property prices no longer devalued? Can you imagine never having to worry about a constant uninterrupted mobile phone conversation? This will be reality when StratSat is launched.
The StratSat programme will provide a low-orbit stratospheric satellite in the form of an unmanned airship that will be launched into the stratosphere to a height of 60,000 feet. On board will be state of the art technology carrying transponders for mobile telephone, direct broadcast TV, digital radio, Internet and surveillance services. The airship is powered by solar cells and a back-up diesel engine and is designed to remain in position for five years, with a high-density focused coverage over a 7,000 sq. mile area. The airship can hold position to within 0.5 km of its target location and the same basic design is suitable for deployment anywhere in the world.
Roger Munk, Chairman and Chief Technical Director of ATG said:
"StratSat has the potential to revolutionise the way the world's communications systems are structured. We have brought together the most advanced light-weight power and propulsion systems and materials that can withstand the greatest extremes of temperature and weather systems to create this phenomenal craft. With the capacity to be launched and function anywhere in the world the StratSat will bring a sophisticated, practical and cost effective solution to cater for the ever expanding mobile and Internet markets."
Key facts:
A system capacity of 1000 billion call minutes a year (40 billion for Orange)
At 60,000 feet the StratSat is out of range of any existing military missiles or the flightpaths of any aircraft
The full size StratSat is 200 m in length -- that's half as long again as Wembley football pitch or equivalent to three 747's
The volume of the StratSat is 269,000 cubic meters or 60 million gallons