Word: aerostats
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...idea is based on the signal-relay balloons that were used to reach isolated U.S. outposts in the jungles of Viet Nam. Like the military's message bearers, TCOM's balloon, or aerostat (from the Greek words for "air" and "one that stops"), as its developers call it, is anchored by cable over a fixed spot on the ground. In a test now under way in the Bahamas, an aerostat floating 11,500 ft. over Grand Bahama Island is picking up TV signals from Miami 110 miles away and rebroadcasting them on a local channel-in effect, trebling...
With the stubby fins and tail of a World War II blimp, the 175-ft.-long aerostat has proved to have extraordinary stability; Hurricane Gilda's 100-m.p.h. winds last year barely nudged it. The helium inside the balloon's tough, eight-layer plastic skin provides enough lift to allow up to 4,000 lbs. of electronic gear to be packed into the gondola hanging from its underside. The equipment can receive and rebroadcast as many as four television channels, two commercial radio stations and the data from 5,000 to 10,000 microwave circuits. At present...
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