1. LINE

      Text:AAAPrint
      Sci-tech

      Rainbow solar UAV to make maiden flight soon

      1
      2017-03-06 15:22China.org.cn Editor: Li Yan ECNS App Download
      A Caihong (Rainbow) Solar-Powered UAV conducts a test flight at an undisclosed time and location. (File photo provided to China.org.cn by CAAA)

      A Caihong (Rainbow) Solar-Powered UAV conducts a test flight at an undisclosed time and location. (File photo provided to China.org.cn by CAAA)

      A large-scale solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), latest in the "Caihong" (rainbow in English) series produced by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA), will make its maiden flight by midyear, China.org.cn has learnt.

      The UAV will seek to reach near-space, an altitude above where commercial airliners fly, but below orbiting satellites.

      Such a vehicle is commonly referred to as an "atmospheric satellite" in that it can function as a low-orbit satellite to a certain extent. A solar UAV can perform sustained surveillance and information-relay over a region.

      It usually features longer hovering time, higher communication capacity and higher image resolution than a usual reconnaissance satellite that can only visit a designated region periodically. Besides, the price of a solar UAV and its launch cost are far lower than a satellite.

      The Chinese vehicle has a wingspan of more than 40 meters. It has eight propellers installed on the front of the wings fully covered by solar panels. Its designer, CAAA's chief UAV engineer Shi Wen, calls it the world's largest solar-powered drone, even dwarfing the U.S. NASA Pathfinder series that never made it into mass production.

      Shi said his UAV is among the world's top three in terms of its overall performance indicators and technical capabilities.

      Super-high service ceiling, super-long endurance and easy maintenance are the three key aspects to ensure solar drones to perform a leading role in such fields as extensive aerial reconnaissance, disaster monitoring and communication relay.

      The Chinese vehicle can easily stay airborne for months. "If we don't consider the life span of the parts, this kind of aerial vehicle could theoretically fly forever," said its designer.

      The challenges in designing a solar drone mainly involve its aerodynamic layout and wing configuration, because there was no established template to follow. Shi said that a higher lift-to-drag ratio, to optimize the drone's aerodynamic layout, was essential, and this was something the CAAA had built its reputation upon.

      CAAA is a subsidiary of the NASA-like China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Its principal mission is to test the aerodynamic performance of China's aerial and aerospace vehicles, including rockets, space modules and atmospheric reentry-vehicles of long-range projectiles.

      CAAA started to develop the Rainbow drones to break the monopoly of the U.S. drones such as Global Hawk and Reaper in the global arms market. CH-3 and CH-4 are the star products of the Rainbow series. They have already displayed their capabilities in geological and maritime surveillance at home as well as anti-terrorism activities in the Middle East and Africa.

      At the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) 2017 held in Abu Dhabi last month, Saudi Arabia announced it would manufacture certain types of Rainbow UAVs, after inking deals with CAAA. Military insiders claim the CH-4 has a strong possibility for mass manufacture, but no comment was available from CAAA.

        

      Related news

      MorePhoto

      Most popular in 24h

      MoreTop news

      MoreVideo

      News
      Politics
      Business
      Society
      Culture
      Military
      Sci-tech
      Entertainment
      Sports
      Odd
      Features
      Biz
      Economy
      Travel
      Travel News
      Travel Types
      Events
      Food
      Hotel
      Bar & Club
      Architecture
      Gallery
      Photo
      CNS Photo
      Video
      Video
      Learning Chinese
      Learn About China
      Social Chinese
      Business Chinese
      Buzz Words
      Bilingual
      Resources
      ECNS Wire
      Special Coverage
      Infographics
      Voices
      LINE
      Back to top Links | About Us | Jobs | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
      Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
      Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
      主站蜘蛛池模板: a一级毛片免费高清在线| 亚洲中文字幕一区精品自拍| 免费毛片毛片网址| 日韩免费视频播放| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区牲色| 成人免费午夜无码视频| 亚洲AV成人无码天堂| 黄瓜视频高清在线看免费下载| 亚洲乱码中文论理电影| 久草免费在线观看视频| 亚洲色成人网站WWW永久四虎 | 久久国产免费观看精品| 国产亚洲无线码一区二区 | 在线观看免费黄网站| 亚洲国产精品特色大片观看完整版 | 中文字幕视频在线免费观看| 亚洲人成在线播放网站| 99在线热视频只有精品免费| 亚洲国产精品综合久久2007| 妻子5免费完整高清电视| 亚洲七久久之综合七久久| 啊v在线免费观看| 99久久免费国产特黄| 亚洲国产成人资源在线软件| 国产成人无码免费视频97 | 无遮挡呻吟娇喘视频免费播放 | 亚洲AV永久青草无码精品| 99久久久国产精品免费蜜臀| 亚洲精品456人成在线| 国产免费资源高清小视频在线观看| 精品成人一区二区三区免费视频| 久久久久国产成人精品亚洲午夜 | 亚洲综合网美国十次| 啦啦啦手机完整免费高清观看| 老司机午夜性生免费福利| 亚洲色精品vr一区二区三区| 我们的2018在线观看免费高清| 老司机午夜免费视频| 中文字幕亚洲综合久久| 国产免费黄色大片| 又大又硬又爽又粗又快的视频免费|