A Closer Look At Aurora’s Solar Stratospheric Odysseus

Aurora Flight Sciences unveiled the 243-ft.-span Odysseus solar-powered stratospheric unmanned aircraft on Nov. 14. First flight is planned for April in Puerto Rico.

Odysseus was rolled out of the leased hangar in Manassas, Virginia, where it is undergoing ground testing before being shipped by container to Puerto Rico for flight testing.

Three fuselages distribute the loads from batteries, avionics, payloads and landing gear along the span of the wing to improve structural dynamic behavior.

Aurora designed and built the custom brushless DC electric motors that power Odysseus’s six propellers, which are mounted on booms so they operate in clean air.

The wing uses low-Reynolds-number airfoils optimized for low-speed, high-altitude flight and designed based on experience reaching back to MIT’s human-powered Daedalus.

The air data system for the triplex, digital, autonomous flight-control system is designed at operate at low dynamic pressure while flying at low speed and high altitude.

The horizontal and vertical tail surfaces on each of the three fuselages are all-moving and provide pitch and yaw control. Together, they warp the wing for roll control.

Designed and produced by Aurora, the variable-pitch propellers use low-Reynolds-number airfoils optimized for efficient propulsion on solar power at high altitude.

With a lightweight, flexible structure, the aircraft is mounted on a metal strongback while on the ground to support it and allow it to be maneuvered easily.

Using the strongback, Odysseus is pushed out of the assembly hangar in Manassas for its public debut. The wheeled structure will also serve as the launch dolly.

The wing is made in three sections, with field joins, for transportability, and has a light but strong structure comprising carbon-fiber-truss spars and ribs.

Wing construction resembles that of a bridge, with expansion joints between glass-fiber upper surface panels to allow bending. The lower surface is Tedlar film.

For launch, Odysseus will be towed by truck down the runway on its strongback, the aircraft autonomously releasing itself from the launch dolly when ready to lift off.

The completed 243-ft.-span Odysseus sits on its strongback. The first aircraft is battery-powered for flight tests and has only one test strip of solar panels (black stripe).

Odysseus displays its sheer scale as it is towed on its launch dolly. The aircraft will be shipped to Puerto Rico in the oversize yellow container seen in the background.