NASA Centurion
| Centurion | |
|---|---|
| |
| Centurion takes off from Dryden in December, 1998 | |
| Role | Remote controlled UAV |
| Manufacturer | AeroVironment |
| First flight | November 10, 1998 |
| Primary user | NASA ERAST Program |
| Number built | 1 |
| Developed from | NASA Pathfinder |
| Developed into | NASA Helios
|
The NASA Centurion was the third aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of
Centurion
Centurion, originally built for the 100,000 feet (30,000 m) altitude on solar power milestone specified by the ERAST project, was the third generation aircraft in the NASA Pathfinder series of electrical-powered flying wing unmanned aircraft. The ERAST program managers had determined that an aircraft based on the Pathfinder/Pathfinder Plus concept would be the lowest risk approach of achieving the altitude goal.[2]
Initially, a quarter-scale model of the Centurion was test flown at
Aircraft description
The design of Centurion resulted in an aircraft that looked very much like the Pathfinder, but with a much longer wingspan of 206 feet (63 m). Although the Centurion shape resembled the Pathfinder, the structure was designed to be stronger and capable of carrying numerous payloads (up to 600 pounds (272.2 kg)) more efficiently. Its wing incorporated a redesigned high-altitude airfoil and the span was increased to 206 feet (63 m). The number of motors was increased to 14 and the number of underwing pods to carry batteries, flight control system components, ballast, and landing gear rose to four.[2]
Specifications
| Pathfinder | Pathfinder-Plus | Centurion | Helios HP01 | Helios HP03 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length ft(m) | 12 (3.6) | 12 (3.6) | 12 (3.6) | 12 (3.6) | 16.5 (5.0) |
| Chord ft(m) | 8 (2.4) | ||||
| Wingspan ft(m) | 98.4 (29.5) | 121 (36.3) | 206 (61.8) | 247 (75.3) | |
| Aspect ratio | 12 to 1 | 15 to 1 | 26 to 1 | 30.9 to 1 | |
| Glide ratio | 18 to 1 | 21 to 1 | ? | ? | ? |
| Airspeed kts(km/h) | 15–18 (27–33) | 16.5–23.5 (30.6–43.5) | ? | ||
| Max altitude ft(m) | 71,530 (21,802) | 80,201 (24,445) | n/a | 96,863 (29,523) | 65,000 (19,812) |
| Empty Wt lb(kg) | ? | ? | ? | 1,322 (600) | ? |
| Max. weight lb(kg) | 560 (252) | 700 (315) | ±1,900 (±862) | 2,048 (929) | 2,320 (1,052) |
| Payload lb(kg) | 100 (45) | 150 (67,5) | 100–600 (45–270) | 726 (329) | ? |
| Engines | electric, 2 hp (1.5 kW) each | ||||
| No. of engines | 6 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 10 |
| Solar pwr output (kW) | 7.5 | 12.5 | 31 | ? | 18.5 |
| Supplemental power | batteries | batteries | batteries | Li batteries | Li batteries, fuel cell |
See also
- The prehistory of endurance UAVs
- Electric aircraft
- Regenerative fuel cell
- NASA Pathfinder (First flew in June 1983)
- NASA/AeroVironment Helios Prototype(First flight 8 September 1999)
- QinetiQ/Airbus Zephyr (First flight in 2008)
- Facebook Aquila (First flight 28 June 2016)
- SoftBank/AeroVironment HAPSMobile (First flight 11 September 2019)
- BAE Systems PHASA-35 (First flight 17 February 2020)
References
This article contains material that originally came from the web article "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the
- ^ a b c "NASA Armstrong Fact Sheet: Helios Prototype". NASA. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2023-04-19.
- ^ a b c NASA Centurion fact sheet, archived at archive.org, accessed September 8, 2008
- ^ NASA Pathfinder fact sheet, archived at archive.org
- ^ Investigation of the Helios Prototype Aircraft Mishap – Volume 1, T.E. Noll et al., January 2004
- ^ NASA Centurion Fact Sheet archived at archive.org
- "Photovoltaic Finesse: Better Solar Cells—with Wires Where the Sun Don't Shine", an article by Daniel Cho on page thirty-three of the September, 2003 issue of Scientific American
External links
- NASA's Helios Project
- Helios for kids
- Helios model by DesignsbyALX Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine.
- "3G Tested at 65,000 feet (20,000 m) in the stratosphere" 3G news release July 23, 2002
- Science Daily article on Pathfinder Plus altitude record
- Telecom relay achievements at Airport International
- Space.com article
- History of solar powered UAVs at The Future of Things
- Pathfinder Plus at NASM
- Helios crash article
- NASA-AeroVironment contract for followon projects[permanent dead link]
- Helios record attempt article
- NASA image collections:
