ABSTRACT
Stratellites (the term
comes from combining the words stratosphere and satellite)
are high-altitude, unmanned airships designed to operate continuously for
weeks, months, or even years at a time. Their main purpose is to hover over one
geographical location and function as a relay and/or transmission source for
radio signals, including as broadband, mobile phone, and digital television
transmissions. The idea is currently being developed by the company Sanswire
and others. A stratellite would hover about 20 kilometers up, above the jet
stream and most weather, and could service an area about 320 kilometers in
diameter, or about 480,000 square kilometers. Lag times would be many times
less than that for orbiting satellites carrying the same type of signals, but
would cover a larger area than traditional transmission towers.
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