Illustration of the ALAT Platform

The following illustrations show the development of the concept and related "spin-off" technology. To allow a long mission duration and minimize boundary layer effects on the payload, all airborne embodiments utilize lighter than air platforms.

Airplanes with adequate lift require substantial power and forward air speed in order to fly. This causes undesirable boundary layer effects and makes the aircraft more difficult to track; and tracking can be important for optical and some other communications, or in beaming power. Flying rotors (variants of the helicopter) can remain in a fixed location but can require a lot of power. The necessity to "de-spin" the payload on a flying rotor also adds complexity.

Since the stability of the telescope is very important, it is either attached to the airship structure or suspended below widely separated support points. The concept has evolved considerably since conception, resulting in "spin-off" applications and technology that will benefit other fields. The drawing and illustration list is shown below.

All illustrations are under construction, so the drawing files are not posted. When posted, each drawing file will be about 120K.

1. Illustration of the ALAT Platform
2. Illustration of ARDOC (Airborne Relay for Deep-Space Optical Communication)
3. Original ALAT Conceptual Drawing; Arrayable LTA (Lighter Than Air) Platform Unit with Telescope
4. Second Conceptual Drawing; LTA Platform with Multiple Payloads
5. Third Conceptual Drawing; LTA Platform with Internal Inflatable Reflector
6. Detail of Steerable Feed Inflatable Antenna Concept
7. Ground Based Steerable Feed Antenna with 110 deg. Fully Illuminated Scan Range (based on inflatable version)
8. Ground Based Steerable Feed Antenna with Limited Scan Range
9. Airborne or Spaceborne Inflatable Antenna with Inflatable Spherical Enclosure
10. Large Ground Based Inflatable Antenna with Inflatable Spherical Enclosure under an Inflatable Dome Housing