Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, June 5-Google co-founder Sergey Brin has been quietly investing in an airship manufacturing company called LTA Research & Exploration, Bloomberg reported. LTA, which stands for Lighter Than Air (lighter than air), has kept a low profile since its founding in 2016. After years of hard work, LTA is about to launch its first airship, the Pathfinder 1, a large airship fleet the company plans to build in the future.

The Pathfinder 1, built in a giant hangar in Mountain View, Calif., is 122 meters long and 20 meters in diameter. It is no different from other airships in appearance. It is white, with conical tails at the front and rear, twelve propellers and a pod. But inside the airship, there are complex carbon fiber tubes and titanium alloy joints, making it stronger and lighter than traditional airships. There are also 13 helium airbags that provide lift, and the helium will not burn. Pathfinder 1 is only a small version of the airship that LTA plans to build in the future, but no one has built a rigid airship of this size since the 1930s.

It is not known why Brin wanted an airship fleet. He turned down many interview requests and refused to talk about LTA. Brin's motive seems simple: he just likes airships. He and LTA CEO Alan Weston (Alan Weston) believe that airships can transport goods in an environmentally friendly way and provide supplies to disaster areas. Future luxury airships may attract passengers who want to travel in a leisurely and exotic way, for example, from London to New York in a few days.

At present, the airship industry is almost non-existent, some airships float around stadiums with advertisements, some airships are used to take pictures, and some rigid airships make recreational flights in Germany, that's all.

Brin is currently worth about $105 billion (CTOnews.com Note: about 745.5 billion yuan), so money is not a problem for him. Neither he nor his representatives would say how much money he has invested in LTA, but factory employees say privately that it has so far exceeded at least $250 million. However, Weston is very serious about LTA's business future and is keen to keep his 250 employees employed and busy in the future. He hopes to improve his early models and start mass production. "I am fascinated and excited about the potential of airships, which can be built with fewer teams, faster, cheaper materials," Weston said. "We have also invented a lot of ways to achieve this goal."

The history of airships dates back to the late 19th century, when people began to use gases lighter than air, such as hydrogen or helium, to lift off giant airbags. Airships are divided into rigid and non-rigid, the former has a fixed skeleton structure, while the latter relies on internal pressure to maintain shape. Airships were first used for military reconnaissance and bombing, and later for civilian transport and tourism. In the 1920s and 1930s, airships were considered to be a luxurious, comfortable and safe means of transportation that could cross the ocean and connect Europe and America. The most famous airship company at that time was Zeppelin in Germany, which produced many epoch-making airships, such as the Earl of Zeppelin (Graf Zeppelin) and the Hindenburg.

However, the glory days of airships were soon over. On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg exploded while landing at the Naval Air Station in Leckhurst, New Jersey, killing 36 people, which shocked the world and marked the decline of the airship industry. With the development of aircraft technology, airships have gradually lost their advantages in speed, load and safety, and become an outdated mode of transportation. After World War II, airships almost completely retired from aviation, leaving only a few companies engaged in advertising, photography or entertainment.

LTA's innovative LTA is trying to change that and bring the airship back to life. The company's airship not only inherits the advantages of traditional airships, such as low noise, low fuel consumption, low emissions, long range, etc., but also uses modern technology and materials to improve the performance and reliability of airships. For example, LTA uses lightweight and rugged materials such as carbon fiber and titanium alloy to make the airship's skeleton, helium instead of flammable hydrogen to fill it, electric propellers to drive it, equipped with advanced batteries and solar panels to power it, computer control systems to adjust its attitude and height, and radar, GPS and other navigation equipment to keep it safe.

LTA is currently building Pathfinder 1 and larger Pathfinder 2 and 3. These airships are rigid airships that can carry tons to hundreds of tons of cargo or passengers. LTA plans to use these airships for a variety of occasions, such as transport of heavy equipment, relief of disaster victims, sightseeing trips and so on. LTA's bigger vision is to build a super-luxury airship called Stratocruiser (stratospheric Cruiser), which can hold 100 passengers and provide restaurants, bars, gyms, swimming pools and other facilities for passengers to enjoy a slow pace of air travel.

LTA's Challenge LTA's airship program is creative and attractive, but it also faces many challenges. First of all, the safety of airships is still a problem, especially in the event of bad weather or hostile behavior. LTA needs to prove that its airship can withstand all kinds of risks and ensure the safety of passengers and cargo. Secondly, the economy of airships is also a problem, especially when competing with other means of transportation such as aircraft. LTA needs to prove that its airships can provide competitive prices and services to attract enough customers and markets. Finally, regulation is also an issue, especially when it comes to cross-border or transcontinental transport. LTA needs to coordinate with national and regional aviation authorities, obtain appropriate permits and approvals, and comply with relevant rules and standards.

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