Photo from open sources
Is it possible to fly into space on an airship? At first sight, it seems not, because outer space is airless, there’s nothing to rely on a ball-like ballooning the aircraft. However, this is far from the case (in more detail look about this video below), and therefore the modern airship is quite can reach cosmic heights.
Three Japanese engineers want to prove it next year, having made a space flight on the technical genius created by them innovative airship consisting of heavy-duty composite material. At present, enthusiasts have already begun working out the last steps, that is, the final tests of his brainchild, development of which is being conducted by them since 2015. Stratospheric the airship must pass strength tests in a special equipment, for example, in wind tunnels, capsules with reduced pressure and so on.
According to brave development engineers, fly in space on their ultra-modern device, they can up to three days. At this the cost of lifting the airship into airless space will be several times lower than the implementation of such a trip to traditional rocket.
Note that the development of the space airship is also American company JP Aerosapce (since 1999), striving for low-cost access to space. Such a magnetoplane (stratospheric the airship will not rely in space on air that is not there, and on the Earth’s magnetic field) will simplify and significantly reduce the cost of launching various vehicles in outer space. However, the project itself has become too expensive and time consuming, and because the first tests to launch the prototype of the space airship passed only last year. Despite success, JP specialists Aerosapce refused to give even an approximate date when all it will be completed.
Perhaps a successful space flight on the Japanese airship engineers, which will be held next year, will push American developers accelerate the completion of their, in general, interesting project.
