Stratellite

Stratellite is a brand name trademark of Sanswire for a future emissions-free, high-altitude stratospheric airship that provides a stationary communications platform for various types of wireless signals usually carried by communications towers or satellites. The Stratellite is a concept that has undergone several years of research and development, and is not yet commercially available; Sanswire, with its partner TAO Technologies, anticipates its current testing sequence to include the launch of a Stratellite into the stratosphere.

High-altitude airships, like the Stratellite, would hover lower than an orbiting satellite, but far above the jet stream and most weather, in the stratosphere approximately 13 mi (20 km) above the Earth. A single unit could then send broadband, mobile phone and digital television and radio signals to a large area. The unmanned Stratellite would be powered by solar cells and propelled by electric motors. So far, this technology remains unproven, and is very far from commercialization. A working proto-type that can perform all these functions doesn't exist.

Lag times would be reduced by a factor of nearly 2000 compared to geosynchronous satellites, and 15 for low orbiting satellites but with a smaller coverage area. When compared to terrestrial communications towers, Stratellite coverage would be larger, with lag times being more a function of internal communications equipment rather than distance.

Estimated broadband coverage of 300,000 mi² (480,000 km²), roughly the size of Texas or France, is planned. Wireless signals could be transmitted to and from a 200 mi (320 km) diameter, but terrain features and man-made structures could partially or locally interfere with the signal. Since the Stratellite is designed for regular returns to the surface for maintenance, some overlap and redundancy would be required to maintain continuous service. Sanswire Networks initially plans to deploy this technology over major metropolitan areas.

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