ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,304,663, issued on May 20.
"System and method for a stratospheric aircraft" was invented by Thomas F. Yost (Chesapeake Beach, Md.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An airship includes a capsule and an external structure attached to the capsule and extending vertically above an upper portion of the capsule. A plurality of gas balloons are secured to the external structure and hold a lighter-than-air lifting gas. The volume of lifting gas in the plurality of balloons is at least a sufficient volume to lift the airship into the stratosphere. The airship may also include a first boom and second boom that extend horizontally outward from a lower...