Unmanned surveillance blimp breaks tether, floats over Pennsylvania

Re:Unmanned surveillance blimp breaks tether, floats over Pe... by maxerickson on Wednesday October 28, 2015 @04:14PM (#10467059)

Strong winds broke the tether. When it is at altitude, there is ~1 tether.

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Re:Unmanned surveillance blimp breaks tether, floats over Pe... by Alupis on Wednesday October 28, 2015 @04:19PM (#10467097)

Ah - the article didn't mention that. Seems like a design flaw really... the single tether.

Furthermore, why is it shaped like a blimp with an obvious front-side, when it's designed to be stationary (wouldn't a simple balloon work?)

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Re:Unmanned surveillance blimp breaks tether, floats over Pe... by motoboi on Wednesday October 28, 2015 @04:31PM (#10467183)

Balloons are made to be carried away by wind. If you want to keep something stationary in the air, better find a aerodynamic shape. One that can keeps its orientation in the air is better yet.

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Re:Unmanned surveillance blimp breaks tether, floats over Pe... by Natanael_L on Wednesday October 28, 2015 @05:10PM (#10467437)

Fixed orientation is beneficial for the sensors and signal processing too. Less readjustments to make.

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Re:Unmanned surveillance blimp breaks tether, floats over Pe... by maxerickson on Wednesday October 28, 2015 @04:22PM (#10467117)

Well, the weight of the tethering matters. So they probably can't just have 2 of the strength of the one that broke.

I believe it has a front side because then it can point into the wind, making it easer to stay stationary for the given volume (and hence lift capacity).

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Re:Unmanned surveillance blimp breaks tether, floats over Pe... by randlet on Wednesday October 28, 2015 @04:32PM (#10467193)

Stationary relative to the ground but not the air.

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