High Altitude Platforms for Telecommunications: Design Methodology

High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) represents an appealing solution to deliver low cost broadband access to telecommunication (TLC) networks. However, this potential can be disclosed only if a proper technology is identified in the design of airships and aircrafts. This paper first presents the innovative services which can be provided by a fleet of HAPs in the field of information and communication technology (ICT), and then a novel approach to a modular the design of HAPs is presented. In particular, this study consists of a theoretical investigation and energetic design of an HAP derived from a new class of stratospheric airship for the production of energy at high quote. In practice the energy is harvested by photovoltaic panels and stored in hydrogen fuel cells. We denote this new technology with the acronym P.S.I.C.H.E. (Photovoltaic Space Island for Conversion of Hydrogen as Energy vector). In this paper authors consider the problems connected to the dimensional scalability of the system in order to verify the possibility of producing a reduced version of P.S.I.C.H.E. for telecommunication services only. This platform for telecommunication can operate over northern Italy (about 45° latitude north) at altitudes between 15-16 Km. Operative altitude and volume of lifting gas can vary as a function of winds in any other location all over the world. By these considerations authors are going to propose a novel iterative design methodology to dimension an airship characterized by a shape with a vertical rotation axis.