Inflatable Kite Development and Operations for High Altitude Tethered Observations

Development of high-altitude kite systems are crucial to the advancement of weather forecasting, communication, and video surveillance. These systems will provide airborne platforms for energy harvesting, weather data sensing, and stand as a repeater for optical communication satellites, as well other various applications. Kite systems can incorporate inflatable structures so that payload capacities increase substantially and allow more room for instruments while providing deployability and robustness for wind gusts. In order to master the potential development of such kite systems it is important to be aware of all requirements through trade studies, manufacturing capability testing, high-altitude focused design, and dynamic flight behavior verification. This study examines required materials for inflatable kite structures while investigating requirements including atmospheric sensors and health-monitoring systems. Sensing instrumentation was developed including barometric altitude, humidity, and temperature as well as real-time downlink. Kite health-monitoring includes tether tension sensors, pressure maintenance system, and an on-board camera. The feasibility study maps the realizable design space for optimized inflatable kite structures and systems. Foreseeable and unexpected problems and solutions are discussed as well as high altitude flight test results and validation of scale feasibility models.