Tethered Airborne Imaging System

The LTA Phase I task will develop a point design of a tethered airborne imaging system capable of extending the imaging capability of submarines and surface ships. The tethered platform will be a stable, inflatable aerostat deployable from submarine and surface ships capable of carrying an imaging system payload of up to 20 pounds in winds of up to 70 mph without grounding. The baseline aerostat will be a scaled down version of an existing LTA aerostat, the Mk6Y. The electrically conducting tether will be modified to incorporate fiber optics to provide an air to ground telemetry and command link. An existing LTA aerostat mooring system will be modified for a rapid deployment scenario and environmentally hardened for sea board operations. Aeronix, the imaging payload subcontractor, will develop a point design imaging payload which will be compatible with a variety of imaging sensors. The imaging payload will include software/hardware for data processing, down link formatting, command and telemetry, and power supply/conditioning. Flight performance analyses of the integrated system will be conducted and system/subsystem specifications will be developed.