OLNEY, Ill. (Oct. 9, 2026) – Aerostratospheric, an Illinois nonprofit, will reveal its xAirship-S prototype, afloat on display, at the High Altitude Science Summit on Saturday, March 13, 2027, from 10 AM to 2 PM CT at Olney City Park in Olney, Illinois. Aerostratospheric hosts a featured guest-vendor session at the High Altitude Science Summit*. Ahead of the reveal, Aerostratospheric is outlining how the xAirship-S relates to its larger xAirship concept.

The xAirship-S is Aerostratospheric's smaller airship platform, a fraction of the size of the xAirship. It is designed to be about 10 feet (3.17 m) in length and floats via helium, with a custom silver blimp envelope paired with stabilized thrust vectoring for intuitive control.

The larger xAirship is listed on Aerostratospheric's xPrototypes bench as a 6 m (20 ft) high-grade PVC aerostat concept. It is designed to be filled from two 200 scf helium cylinders and to fly tethered or by RC, as a low-altitude counterpart to Aerostratospheric's free-balloon platforms.

How the two designs compare, based on published design figures:
Length: xAirship-S, 3.17 m (about 10 ft); xAirship, 6 m (20 ft)
Envelope: xAirship-S, 2-gore, heat-welded aluminum/nylon/polyethylene multilayer; xAirship, high-grade PVC
Helium: xAirship-S, 1,021-liter envelope; xAirship, filled from two 200 scf cylinders
Control: xAirship-S, 2-channel RC remote controller; xAirship, tethered or RC

The xAirship-S envelope is designed with a 0.79 m diameter and a 195 g envelope weight, with an expected lift at sea level with helium of 826 g. Its shape was designed with the Gertler Shape Generator after J. Eissing. The envelope is manufactured in Germany, and the xAirship-S will be custom assembled in Olney, Illinois. It is designed to fly with a lightweight, compact 1-cell 350 mAh battery.

Both designs are aimed at low-altitude work. The xAirship-S is designed to operate under 400 feet above ground and is intended primarily for atmospheric observation, scientific monitoring, and research.

“The xAirship, a massive blimp … I'd like to bring them back,” said Jeremy David Higgs, President of Aerostratospheric, on WCIA 3's Behind the Forecast with Kevin Lighty. The xAirship-S is designed as a smaller first step toward that larger xAirship concept.

The xAirship-S is a prototype in development and is not offered for sale. Specifications, images, and capabilities are preliminary and subject to change. Product details are at https://midwestsds.com/xprototypes.html#xairship-s. Summit details are at https://highaltitudescience.online and https://midwestsds.com/summit.html. Researchers, educators, and partners interested in data collaboration can reach Aerostratospheric at [email protected] or book a 15-minute call at https://calendly.com/aerostratospheric/15min.

Envelope by Windreiter, Germany.

*The High Altitude Science Summit is produced by Aerostratospheric.

About Aerostratospheric

Aerostratospheric is an Illinois nonprofit. It designs, builds, and flies lightweight high-altitude platforms to collect and publicly release high-quality atmospheric data. Science flights are conducted under FAA Part 101, and the resulting datasets are released openly for public scientific and educational use. Corporate office: 801 S. West Street, Suite 101, Olney, IL 62450. Launch operations: Casey, Illinois. Web: https://www.aerostratospheric.com/

Media contact
Aerostratospheric
[email protected]
(603) 600-2376
801 S. West Street, Suite 101, Olney, IL 62450

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