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Officials at the signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

Masdar partners with Thales for hybrid airship

ABU DHABI, January 19, 2017

UAE-based Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy, and sustainable technologies, has signed a MoU with French company Thales/Thales Alenia Space and a French engineering university Mines ParisTech to develop applications for the Stratobus drone-satellite hybrid airship.

The collaborative agreement was signed by Dr Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost of Masdar Institute, Cathy Noguez, the director (International Affairs) at Thales Alenia Space, Olivier Cousergue, key account manager, Air Force/ Air Defence, Thales and Prof Thierry Ranchin, the director of the Center Observation, Impacts, and Energy, Mines ParisTech, in the presence of French ambassador to the UAE Michel Miraillet, at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2017.
 
Stratobus is a type of aircraft currently being developed by Thales Alenia Space together with French and European partners.

Functioning effectively as a hybrid between a drone and a satellite, Stratobus will be positioned at an altitude of about 20 km over its theatre of operations, in the lower layer of the stratosphere, where the air is sufficiently dense to lift the airship balloon and the winds are low.

With its involvement in Stratobus project, Masdar Institute will advance its role in driving cutting-edge innovation in earth observation technologies to bring sustainable benefits, locally, regionally and globally, said the statement from Masdar.

The innovative airship will carry technical equipment that allows it to perform surveillance of borders or land or sea sites (video surveillance of offshore platforms, etc.), environmental monitoring (aerosols, pollution, water monitoring, etc.), climate change impacts (desertification process, plantations, aerosols, pollution, water monitoring, etc.) and provide telecommunications services (Internet, 5G). To be fully autonomous, StratobusTM will incorporate innovative technologies such as high efficiency flexible solar cells supplying a strong electrical power on board, it added.

Thales Alenia Space and partners plan to launch the first qualification and certification flight in 2020.
 
Masdar Institute is actively engaged in several ongoing remote sensing research and development projects, and has successfully completed many others.

The Institute is presently working on a diverse range of research projects with a special focus on deserts and arid climate such as urban heat island studies; monitoring oil spills, algal blooms, solar resources, and dust storms; national-level water budget; land-atmosphere interactions; modelling of hydro-meteorological variables; and climate change studies, said the Abu Dhabi-based company.
                                
Jean-Philippe Chessel, Stratobus business line product manager, said: "Masdar Institute has unique expertise in environmental monitoring research that we believe to be of value in developing the environment applications of Stratobus to deliver its innovative services, which is why we are excited to work together to discover and develop locally relevant environmental applications for our technology."

"We believe our partnership with Masdar Institute will result in the development of many useful applications, breakthrough technologies and new knowledge in the field of environmental monitoring," he observed.
 
Dr Al Yousuf said: “Accurate and timely environmental monitoring is key to ensuring the wellbeing of the UAE and its people. In particular, our ability to observe and measure what is happening in the Gulf is critical, as it is a major source of our water, trade, tourism and food."

"Stratobus represents an innovative way to enhance the UAE’s environmental monitoring ability and Masdar Institute is keen to be part of this exciting new interface of aerospace, communication, and environmental monitoring technologies," he noted.
 
Masdar Institute has established itself as a leading organization in the region in the field of earth observation, satellite image processing, and atmospheric modeling, and is particularly recognized for its expertise in desert and arid environments.
 
Ranchin pointed out that this high-level scientific collaborative research, combining the unique expertise of Masdar Institute, Mines ParisTech and Thales Alenia Space, will prepare the floor for the use of a major innovation for environmental monitoring in UAE and around the world and possibly support most effectively the Climate Risk and Early Warning System (Crews) climate initiative objectives.

"The embedded UAE’s users of StratoBus will benefit from the unique expertise of the team and will be ensured that their needs and requirements will be covered by this new Earth observation means. Mines ParisTech is proud to reinforce its productive collaboration with Masdar Institute in this exciting project," he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: UAE | Masdar | Thales | hybrid airship |

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