Stratellite

Stratellite is a brand name (Stratellite is a trademark of Sanswire Network, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of GlobeTel Communications Corp.) for a future emissions-free, high-altitude stratospheric airship that provides a stationary communications platform for various types of wireless signals usually carried by communications towers or satellites. The Stratellite is a concept that has undergone several years of research and development, and does not yet exist in reality; Sanswire has not launched anything into the stratosphere as of yet.

Details

High-altitude airships, like the Stratellite, would hover lower than an orbiting satellite, but far above the jet stream and most weather, in the stratosphere approximately 13 mi (20 km) above the Earth. A single unit could then send broadband, mobile phone and digital television and radio signals to a large area.

In comparison, lag times would be reduced by a factor of nearly 2000 for geostationary satellites, and 15 for low orbiting satellites but with a smaller coverage area. When compared to terrestrial communications towers, Stratellite coverage would be larger, with lag times being more a function of internal communications equipment rather than distance.^{[citation needed]}

Estimated broadband coverage of 300,000 mi² (777,000 km²), roughly the size of Texas or France, is planned. Wireless signals could be transmitted to and from a 200 mi (320 km) diameter, but terrain features and man-made structures could partially or locally interfere with the signal. ^{[citation needed]} ^{[dubious – discuss]}

Since the Stratellite is designed for regular returns to the surface for maintenance (see below), some overlap and redundancy would be required to maintain continuous service. Sanswire Networks initially plans to deploy this technology over major metropolitan areas.^{[citation needed]}

Proponents claim a high-altitude communications platform, like the Stratellite, could make terrestrial broadcast towers obsolete, reducing the cost and time required for hardware updates. An update made to a single unit would effectively cascade to an entire grid of virtual broadcast towers. It will be possible to bring broadband service to a wide area currently without terrestrial towers quickly and with relative ease. ^{[citation needed]}

The unmanned Stratellite would be powered by solar cells and propelled by electric motors. When complete, it will resemble a 245 ft (75 m) blue whale, only twice as long and roughly eight times the volume.^{[citation needed]}

Certain "engineers" that had originally claimed ownership of the concept currently doubt Sanswire's ability to maintain duration aloft as stated, due to their positions having been terminated by Sanswire. One such engineer designed the airship depicted in the photo, built at the former Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California. It was never flown. The vehicle was eventually scrapped in total and the project relocated to Palmdale Airport in the California Antelope Valley. A third variant of the design was also built, but never flown as well. According to corporate press releases, the Stratellite and related assets were shipped to TAO Technologies in Stuttgart, Germany for further evaluation and design revision. Sanswire then formed a new German corporation known as Sanswire-TAO GmbH.

Specifications

Length: 245 ft (75 m)
Width: 145 ft (44 m)
Height: 87 ft (26.5 m)
Volume: 1.3 million ft³ (37,000 m³)
Dual envelopes, made of Dyneema (sometimes called Spectra)
Propulsion: electric motors powered by photovoltaic solar units covering outer envelope manufactured by Iowa Thin Film
Navigation: 6 onboard GPS units connected to the ship's engines
Payload capacity: 3,000 lb (1,400 kg)
Maximum altitude: 70,000 ft (21,000 m)
Cruising altitude: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)
Lifting gas: Helium and Nitrogen
Line-of-sight: 300,000 mile² (777,000 km²)
Maximum duration aloft: 18 months
Maximum duration of shareprice spike: 3 days

Company details

This section deals with GlobeTel which is not directly related to the definition of Stratellite

The word Stratellite is a trademark of Sanswire Network, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of GlobeTel Communications Corp. Formerly (AMEX:GTE) as of October 11, 2006 (GTEM.PK)[1] The company held a summit in January 2005 to discuss commercial, international and military opportunities. On April 12th, 2005, Sanswire 1 was shown to the public. The company announced on October 19th, 2006 that its Sanswire 2A technology demonstrator completed its first outdoor, low altitude, float test. No further tests have taken place and it is likely that this version has also been scrapped.

The company currently developing the Stratellite, Globetel was delisted from the American Stock Exchange on October 10th, 2006.[2] The Securities & Exchange Commission is currently investigating the company.[3] Many alleged investors have claimed to have allegedly lost large sums of money investing in the Stratellite Technology to date. It has been alleged by certain parties that have been terminated by the Stratellite's owner and whom have participated in short selling the securities of the Stratellite's owner, that the company and its products are not going to succeed. These allegations come in the wake of a class action lawsuit filed against the company stemming from a previous agreement the company had entered into with a company based in Russia named Internafta. [4][5][6] It is important to note certain of these allegations originate from individual investors, therefore, actual losses are difficult to verify.

The company, Globetel, as of October 11, 2006 now trades under the symbol GTEM.pk on the pinksheets.[7] Stocks trading on the Pink Sheets (recognizable with a .PK suffix) have little to no regulatory or listing requirements whatsoever, at least compared to major markets. There are no minimum accounting standards, change in notification of ownership of shares, and reported other material changes affecting the financial viability of a company, all of which are designed to protect shareholders.[8][9][10]

On October 12th, 2006 Timothy Huff stepped down from his position of CEO and also resigned from the Board of Directors.[11] J. Randolph Dumas stepped down as Chairman of the Board. Independent directors Dorian Klein and Ambassador Ferdinando Salleo have also agreed to resign.[12] Przemyslaw L. Kostro, former Chairman of GlobeTel Communications, returns to that position in the interim, succeeding J. Randolph Dumas. Peter Khoury has been named interim Chief Executive Officer and a director, succeeding Timothy Huff.[13] On November 2nd, 2006 in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, GTEM announced that Lawrence Lynch was no longer the Company's acting Chief Financial Officer.[14]

Sanswire is not the first company to propose such a craft. Similar proposals have been made by Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) in Bedford, England, SkyLINK, Inc, in England, and SkyTower Inc., a subsidiary of AeroVironment Inc. in Monrovia, California, in the United States.

Note: To date, Sanswire has produced three variants of their Stratellite platform to varying degrees of incompletion. None of which have flown The first version was built in 2004-5 to nearly 75%, the second being a modified (lengthened) version of the first was built in 2005 but never flown from the rented Sanswire hangar at the former Norton AFB in San Bernardino, California. It was dismantled and most of the aluminum airframe was sold for scrap. The third and final version of the Stratellite was built as a composite semi-rigid airship which would not be able to accomplish its' intended design goal of sustained flight at 65,000 for any appreciable amount of time. In an Associated Press news article, the chief project engineer admitted that their airship would not be able to attain altitudes greater than 30,000 feet. At this writing, the City of Los Angeles, owner of the Palmdale hangar which Sanswire had leased, sued the company for unpaid rent dating back to November of 2006. The matter went to arbitration on August 23, 2007 where a provisonal agreement was made whereby Sanswire would vacate the hangar by September 7, 2007 and pay the delinquent rent owed within 12 months. The exact status of the final airship is not known. It is believed to have been scrapped as have the two previous design models. See below "Pump and Dump."

Company receives Wells Notice

On October 12, 2007 the company reported it had received a Wells Notice from the United States Securities & Exchange commission. [15]There is currently some question as to why it took Globetel so long to disclose this. The following is from the 8k filing. [16] On October 5, 2007, GlobeTel Communications Corp., received a "Wells Notice" from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with the SEC’s ongoing investigation of the Company. The Wells Notice provides notification that the staff of the SEC intends to recommend to the Commission that it bring a civil action against the Company for possible violations of the securities laws including violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933; Sections 10(b), 13(a), and 13(b)(2)(A) & (B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, and 13a-13 thereunder; and seeking as relief a permanent injunction, civil penalties, and disgorgement with prejudgment interest. The staff is also considering recommending that the SEC authorize and institute proceedings to revoke the registration of Company’s securities pursuant to Section 12(j) of the Exchange Act.

Under the process established by the SEC, recipients have the opportunity to respond in writing to a Wells Notice before the SEC staff makes any formal recommendation to the Commission regarding what action, if any, should be brought by the SEC. The Company is determining if it will provide a written submission to the SEC in response to the Wells Notice.

External links

Details

Specifications

Company details

Company receives Wells Notice

See also

External links