Why the X-Station?
Why X-Station Design is different
- The X-station design utilizes thoroughly tested and proven technology for high altitude balloons and UAVs.
- The X-Station is the first high altitude design platform incorporating a Blimp & Payload Plane.
- The X-Station thermal management solution makes it possible to use very light material for the Blimp (70gr/m2 as compared to other airship designs with 300gr/m2 )
- The X-Station design solves ascent, descent and geostationary problems, and has low ground infrastructure requirements.
- Exhaustive technical feasibility studies are being undertaken to validate the X-Station concept and its technologies.
Why other HAPs projects failed
- Wrong design concept for stratospheric altitude (low altitude airship technology cannot be adapted successfully to stratospheric conditions).
- Large payload (i.e. 1000 kg or more)
- Large size airship design with huge infrastructure costs
- Insufficient airship experience in a 10-24 km altitude range
- No thermal management solution (X-Station is the only design with PCT patent filing for a thermal control system)
- No initial prototype to test the technology
Comparison with competing technologies
| As compared to Satellite Networks |
As compared to Terrestrial Radio Networks |
|
| Less expensive | Less Expensive | |
| Better Link Budgets | Less Environmental Impact | |
| Easy to Recover and Upgrade | Larger Coverage Areas | |
| Better Payload Capacity | Less Rain Attenuation
(higher elevation angle) |
|
| Less RF Power Required | Better Line of Sight | |
| Easy to Relocate | Easy to Recover and Upgrade | |
| Increased Capacity | Movable Cell Sites | |
| Fast to Deploy | Fast to Deploy | |