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tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,064

Re: Artificial Cloud Drone Delivery of Fresh Water and Storm mitigation

This post is about a solar powered drone that has stayed aloft longer than any other, and set records for longevity and distance covered that will be difficult to beat.  What is definitely surprising (to me for sure) is that the US Army was the sponsor.  I suppose it makes sense to have reliable zero-cost overhead surveillance of the battle field, but I was not aware of this remarkable research.

after-64-days-the-army-s-drone-that-wouldn-t-die-has-died

Task & Purpose

After 64 days, the Army’s drone that wouldn’t die has died
Nicholas Slayton - 22m ago
149 Comments

After 64 days in the sky, across multiple states and countries, eventually breaking records every second it stayed in flight, the Airbus Zephyr S drone crashed.

The Airbus Zephyr S in flight during a 2021 test flight. (Airbus)

© Provided by Task & Purpose

The drone apparently dropped out of the sky, toppling to a hard impact on the ground in Arizona. That’s according to the outlet Simple Flying, which was tracking the drone’s flight over the Yuma Proving Ground and the other locations the Zephyr S flew over. On Friday, Aug. 19, after continuing to fly at normal around 60,000-70,000 feet above ground, it dropped in altitude roughly 20,000 feet, before eventually and suddenly plummeting to the ground. Simple Flying reported that data showed it dropping at a high speed, suggesting a destructive ending.

The U.S. Army’s Army’s Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing/Space Cross-Functional Team, part of Army Futures Command, confirmed that the flight ended, but did not specify if a crash occurred.

“Following 64 days of stratospheric flight and the completion of numerous mission objectives, Zephyr experienced circumstances that ended its current flight campaign. No personal injury occurred,” the Army APNT/CFT said in a statement to Task & Purpose. “Our teams are currently analyzing more than 1500 hours of stratospheric mission data. The valuable experience from this prototype’s ultra long-endurance flight has proved to be a positive step toward the Army’s high-altitude platform goals. Once aircraft recovery and data analysis occur, more information will be available.”

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It seems to me a good fit for the cloud water harvesting topic, because I am  hoping solar power can cover most of the needs of a drone fleet for water harvesting and delivery.

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SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,838

Re: Artificial Cloud Drone Delivery of Fresh Water and Storm mitigation

Yes a good achievement but https://www.airbus.com/en/products-serv … ons/zephyr

70,000ft, above weather and conventional air traffic
wingspan of 25m and weighs less than 75kg.

from take off to elevation is 8 hours of ascent....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_Zephyr

With that long of an ascent I think that payload is out unless its redesigned

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,064

Re: Artificial Cloud Drone Delivery of Fresh Water and Storm mitigation

For SpaceNut re #77

Thanks for your follow up on the post about the flight of the Zephyr that was (apparently) a US Army test vehicle.

Until now I've been totally unaware of the extensive investments made by Airbus in this area!

Thanks for The Wikipedia entry you found!

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SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 28,838

Re: Artificial Cloud Drone Delivery of Fresh Water and Storm mitigation

I see that we did it here as well for the Salton Sea

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,064

Re: Artificial Cloud Drone Delivery of Fresh Water and Storm mitigation

It's time to renew this topic ...

Today's inspiration comes from watching a large ocean going vessel departing the Cerro Luisa locks at the Panama Canal.

https://multimedia.panama-canal.com/Web … luisa.html

The webcam at the link above is one of five that "watch" the canal from various vantage points.

Today's post to the "Artificial Cloud" topic is inspired by watching a cloud pass overhead as the ship made it's way into the main canal.

The shadow of the cloud moved across the scene in steps, since the camera only updates every five minutes or so.

The photons that would impinge upon solar panels (if there were any) are unable to reach the ground, because they are intercepted by suspended water droplets in the cloud. 

It is possible to imagine a lighter-than-air vehicle with solar panels on the upper surface, able to collect solar energy and transmit microwaves to the ground, if there were any stations to receive the energy.  Energy could be collected between dumps.  Deliver of energy could be managed by a central headquarters, using satellite communications from GEO satellites.  The artificial clouds themselves would wander wherever the winds might carry them.

Since there is moisture in the atmosphere, hydrogen would be the logical lifting gas for this concept, since hydrogen could be produced as needed to replace leakage, using solar power as the energy source.

A sufficient number of these devices would be able reduce the number of photons reaching the surface of the Earth.

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tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,064

Re: Artificial Cloud Drone Delivery of Fresh Water and Storm mitigation

Example email to Senator or Representative ...

I just sent a version of the text below to one of my two Senators.  For the purposes of this post, it does not matter which one.

The text on offer here should work for any Senator or Representative, and it might work for political leaders in other countries:

Dear Senator/Representative:

I am offering you an insight that is circulating in a forum devoted to preparing for settlement of Mars.

Often discussion considers problems / challenges on Earth. That is the case here.

http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 81#p208981

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tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,064

Re: Artificial Cloud Drone Delivery of Fresh Water and Storm mitigation

A report on research at the nanoscale has turned up a way of pulling water molecules from the air without cooling...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-a … 21510.html

NextShark
Scientists accidentally turn humid air into clean energy

7
Carl Samson
Mon, July 3, 2023, 5:32 PM EDT
[Source]

A research team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has successfully generated energy out of thin air.

How it started: The team first discovered the possibility in 2018 while working on a sensor for air humidity.

Senior author Jun Yao told the Guardian that it all started when a student forgot to plug in the sensor’s power. Afterward, they realized that the sensor — which was made of nanowires — produced electrical signals nonetheless. They learned that each nanowire allowed for an airborne water molecule to enter, and each “bump” it made inside resulted in a small charge.

Their latest finding: The team has since worked to develop their discovery. In 2020, Yao and another co-author, Derek Lovley, reported that electricity could be continuously harvested from the air using a specialized material made of protein nanowires grown from a bacterium called Geobacter sulfurreducens.

More from NextShark: Top high school in US discriminated against Asian American applicants, judge rules

In their latest study published in the journal Advanced Materials last month, Yao and his team — including lead author Xiaomeng Liu, Hongyan Gao and Lu Sun — reported that nearly any material can be used for the same purpose as long as they are dotted with “nanopores.” These are holes with a diameter of less than 100 nanometers, or as Yao puts it, “less than a thousandth of the width of a human hair.”

How it works: The result is essentially a battery. Because the pores are so small, water molecules harvested from the air bump into their edge. The upper part of the harvester then becomes concentrated with more charged molecules than its lower part. An imbalance is created, akin to clouds capable of producing lightning.

The bigger picture: The findings present the possibility for a future that derives clean energy from anywhere — as long as there’s humidity. Harvesters can be made from almost anything and can be tailored for different environments.

More from NextShark: The Philippines wins its first World Universities Debating Championship title

“This is very exciting,” lead author Liu said in a statement. “We are opening up a wide door for harvesting clean electricity from thin air.”

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

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Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,203

Re: Artificial Cloud Drone Delivery of Fresh Water and Storm mitigation

NASA Flies Drones Autonomously for Air Taxi Research

https://cacm.acm.org/news/278966-nasa-f … h/fulltext