Near space: balloons, satellites, and suborbital rockets

Posted on: Jul. 25th, 2005 || Source: thespacereview.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

The Air Force is looking at using balloons in so-called "near space" to provide communications and reconnaissance services for tactical forces. Taylor Dinerman looks at the effectiveness of this approach versus using satellites and suborbital RLVs.

The enthusiasm of the Air Force’s leadership for “near space” vehicles is undiminished. They foresee that these craft will resemble inflatable aerostats or balloons and will dwell, for months at a time, at over 20,000 meters, where they will provide a variety of functions for US forces within a given theater of operations, such as Iraq. The roles they are considering include communications relays as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

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