JPL considers airship competition

Los Angeles Times : NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is developing a competition to promote the construction of advanced airships that could be platforms for telescopes, environmental monitors, and even WiFi hotspots. Called the 20-20-20 Airship Challenge, the primary goal would be to build an airship that can support a 20-kg payload at an altitude of 20 km for 20 hours. For the second level of the competition, builders would need to increase the payload to 200 kg and the duration to 200 hours. The 20-km altitude would put the craft above 95% of the atmosphere but still leave the air dense enough that propellers could drive the craft. Airships such as blimps and dirigibles are maneuverable, unlike balloons; they are more energy efficient than drones or aircraft; and they are significantly cheaper than satellites. JPL currently has issued a request for information to see if enough parties are interested in the competition. If the response is good, the competition will be one of NASA’s centennial challenges that will be announced in 2015.