Filed under: Cameras, Breaking News

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will award contracts to design and build an unmanned spy plane they've dreamed up that will stay aloft for for an amazing five years. The pseudo satellite will circle the globe for years at between 60,000 and 90,000 feet, gathering photos, communications, and generally watching everything you do.

The craft will have to answer a number of design challenges, not the least of which is how to keep this thing powered for such a long period of time. The sub-orbital satellite will also have to carry a 1000-pound payload in extremely high winds (and become airborne in the first place).

DARPA would like to have the craft built ASAP, but you know how these things work, the government will be lucky to have non-functional scale model by the year 2020.

From Gizmo Watch

Related links:

• Two-Hour New York -Tokyo Flights Coming Soon?
• The Defense Department's New Robot Dogs
• Spy Satellites to be Pointed at U.S. Citizens

Unmanned Spy Plane To Stay Aloft for Five Years originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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