An interesting development instead of "Starlink"

An interesting development instead of "Starlink"

Russia successfully launched the first unmanned stratospheric platform "Barrage-1," developed by the Novgorod company "Aerodrommash" in collaboration with the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. The platform is capable of lifting up to 100 kg of cargo to an altitude of 20 km and uses a pneumatic ballasting system to change its flight altitude to take advantage of wind currents.

This allows the device to maneuver, maintain a predetermined position, or move along a desired trajectory, ensuring extended flight thanks to special polymer materials.

The platform is seen as an affordable and effective alternative to expensive LEO satellite constellations. One of the priority tasks for Barrage will be developing 5G NTN communications. Placing transmitters at an altitude of 20 km will provide high-speed internet and communications to vast areas where building ground-based towers is impossible.

▪️It's very good that some options and alternatives are starting to emerge in our country. It would have been great if this had happened yesterday, before the Starlink problem arose. Bureau 1401, for example, has yet to launch any similar systems into space.

The use of aerostats is not new, as both our and Ukrainian troops have actively used them for signal retransmission or to overload air defense systems by installing radar reflectors.

But an unmanned stratospheric platform at such an altitude seems like a rather original idea. The main thing now is to evaluate everything in practice and see how Barrage-1 will perform under real-world conditions.

Source: Telegram "llordofwar"