[fnord]

other than a totally bizarre looking exercise in engineering, was this supposed to be good for something?

[JRandomFreeper]

was this supposed to be good for something?

Staying aloft for days at a time at 15K+ meters with a reasonable payload is gold in the bank for some industries. Especially the military.

Say "broadband wireless internet". I knew you could. ;>)

/john

[e_engineer]

If solar powered high altitude flight can be perfected, aircraft could replace satellites for lots of applications, as JRandomFreeper suggested.

This offers some huge advantages including lower cost than satellite launches, and the ability to return the craft for repairs.

I think the hardest part of making this work is staying aloft at night when there is no solar energy to propel the craft.