Image of the Day: Colossal Aeroscraft will float through the air

Image of the Day: Colossal Aeroscraft will float through the air

What you are seeing is not a spaceship, not a blimp, and not even an airplane

BY NICOLETTE EMMINO

The Aeroscraft airship. (Image via Worldwide Aeros)

Above is an image of the Aeroscraft airship. A colossal, 230-ft-long, 36,000-lb ship developed by Aeros Corporation, a California-based company that specializes in aviation technology. The prototype has been created with the goal of improving oversized point-to-point freight transportation. The vehicle is currently being housed in a World War II–era hangar in Tunstin, CA.

Aeroscraft inside of World War II–era hangar in California. (Image via Worldwide Aeros)

The high-tech airship is constructed with aluminum skin and an aluminum and carbon fiber skeleton and has a maximum payload of 66 tons. The company hopes that this is the beginning of a fleet of airships that may someday transport cargo more inexpensively than jets.

The Aeroscraft comprises a buoyancy system that uses helium balloons inside of the ship to lift it into the air and uses the air as stabilizer to land, similar to the concept of a submarine using the water to dive. It features vertical take-off and landing, can control lift in each stage of flight, can separate from the cargo, and uses one third of typical fuel consumption than similar jet vehicles.

The vehicle can unload cargo without re-ballasting. (Image via Worldwide Aeros)

The Department of Defense and NASA have invested $35 million dollars in the development of this prototype. Another possible benefit of such a ship is the potential to transport cargo more effectively to U.S. military personnel during times of crises on the battlefield or during natural disasters. Even with no infrastructure and no landing system, the vehicle will be able to unload necessary cargo.

(Image via Worldwide Aeros)

During its monumental first test flight on January 3, 2013, the ship hovered 40 feet above the ground. ■