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Drones
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Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems
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Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems

A special issue of Drones (ISSN 2504-446X). This special issue belongs to the section "Drone Design and Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (13 February 2026) | Viewed by 8420

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ming Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Unmanned Systems, Beihang University, Beijing, China
Interests: solar unmanned aer-ial vehicles; un-manned aerial vehi-cle structure optimi-zation; stratospheric drone
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xixiang Yang

E-Mail
Guest Editor
College of Aerospace Science and Engineering，National University of Defense Technology，Changsha 410073，China
Interests: aircraft design; aircraft control; stratospheric airship control; formation control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tian Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
nstitute of Unmanned Systems, Beihang University, Beijing, China
Interests: flight control; unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Near-space is a new type of strategic space, offering significant advantages for diverse applications such as surveillance, communication, and scientific research. As an ideal platform for exploring and exploiting this space, technologies like stratospheric airships, and high-altitude solar drones are rapidly advancing. With the maturation of high-altitude platform technology, the demand for practicality is increasing, and related industries are gradually emerging with huge market space. High-altitude platforms can be widely used in communication coverage, remote sensing applications, environmental monitoring, aviation support and other fields. A crucial research challenge lies in designing unmanned flying platforms that can maintain accurate and stable flight within the harsh and unpredictable near-space environment. While solar panels, advanced battery systems and onboard intelligent energy management ensure sustainable operation of HAPS, balancing the energy demands of flight and communications remains a significant challenge.

This Special Issue aims to publish cutting-edge research results on the design and flight control of near-space low-speed aircraft, a rapidly evolving and highly significant area within the broader field of drone technology. It will contribute to the development of innovative UAV technologies and their successful application within the emerging near-space domain.

We welcome submissions that provide the community with the latest progress on near-space low-speed aircraft, including but not limited to the following:

Review of research progress of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft;

Overall design technology of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft;

High-performance materials and structural design of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft;

Energy system design and energy management of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft;

Flight planning and flight control of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft;

Collaborative control of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft clusters;

Prognostics and health management of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft;

Thermal management of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft;

Intelligent application of near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft.

Prof. Dr. Ming Zhu
Dr. Xixiang Yang
Dr. Tian Chen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Drones is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • near space
  • high altitude platform station
  • solar powered unmanned systems
  • overall design of aircraft
  • flight control
  • solar energy cycle system
  • ultra-light construction
  • near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 10843 KB  
Article
Optimal Path Planning for High-Altitude Low-Speed Aerostats Under Complex Constraints
by Jiaqi Zhai, Xiaolong Wu, Yongdong Zhang, Hu Ye, Ziwei Wang and Peng Yin
Drones 2026, 10(2), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones10020128 - 12 Feb 2026
Viewed by 344
Abstract
High-altitude low-speed aerostats are ideal unmanned platforms for communication coverage, remote sensing, environmental monitoring, aviation support, and other applications. To address practical operational needs such as rapid emergency deployment, this paper proposes a path planning method for low-speed aerostats based on the Markov [...] Read more.
High-altitude low-speed aerostats are ideal unmanned platforms for communication coverage, remote sensing, environmental monitoring, aviation support, and other applications. To address practical operational needs such as rapid emergency deployment, this paper proposes a path planning method for low-speed aerostats based on the Markov decision process (MDP). The method is optimized to minimize deployment time while accounting for discrepancies between forecasted and actual wind fields. An uncertain wind field model is established to incorporate wind-related uncertainties into the MDP framework, with key parameters—including the state space, action set, immediate reward, and transition probability—designed accordingly. A mathematical model is formulated to address the global path planning problem under complex constraints, such as horizontal wind resistance capability, altitude control capacity, and flight time requirements. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method enables aerostats to achieve optimal 2D and 3D path planning under complex constraints. Furthermore, regional reachability is quantitatively analyzed, providing technical support for the rapid deployment of aerostats to target areas in practical applications. The core innovations of this work lie in the integration of a probabilistic wind uncertainty model with a constraint-aware MDP framework, enabling optimal 3D path planning and quantitative reachability analysis for high-altitude low-speed aerostats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems)
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36 pages, 6995 KB  
Article
Propeller Design Within the Overall Configuration of a Near-Space Airship
by Guoquan Tao, Jizheng Zhang, Cong Xie, Ruixue Song, Bin Xiang, Jialin Chen, Qingyu Kang and Jun Yin
Drones 2026, 10(2), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones10020108 - 2 Feb 2026
Viewed by 643
Abstract
High-efficiency propeller design is essential for reducing the total mass of near-space airships under low-Reynolds-number conditions. This study optimizes the overall design parameters of near-space airships by integrating an efficient engineering propeller design method based on characteristic blade elements. This overall configuration yields [...] Read more.
High-efficiency propeller design is essential for reducing the total mass of near-space airships under low-Reynolds-number conditions. This study optimizes the overall design parameters of near-space airships by integrating an efficient engineering propeller design method based on characteristic blade elements. This overall configuration yields results close to those obtained from single-objective optimization of the propellers. Through analysis of the overall configuration, it is evident that there is limited room for optimization in terms of propeller efficiency improvement. Therefore, a variable-speed strategy that accounts for different flight speeds during day and night is proposed. The variable-speed strategy achieves a 29.6% reduction in total airship mass compared to the constant-speed baseline. These findings verify that optimizing flight speeds and propeller efficiency is effective for achieving lightweight airship designs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems)
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23 pages, 7352 KB  
Article
Aerodynamic Interference of Stratospheric Airship Envelope on Contra-Rotating Propellers
by Guoquan Tao, Jizheng Zhang, Cong Xie, Long Jin, Bin Xiang and Jialin Chen
Drones 2026, 10(2), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones10020095 - 28 Jan 2026
Viewed by 369
Abstract
Contra-rotating propellers (CRPs) have promising applications in stratospheric airships. However, the aerodynamic interference caused by the airship envelope could lead to thrust loss, efficiency decrease, and even structure fatigue. This paper constructed parameterized computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models to simulate the aerodynamic performance [...] Read more.
Contra-rotating propellers (CRPs) have promising applications in stratospheric airships. However, the aerodynamic interference caused by the airship envelope could lead to thrust loss, efficiency decrease, and even structure fatigue. This paper constructed parameterized computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models to simulate the aerodynamic performance of CRPs at different positions relative to the airship envelope. The total thrust, torque, efficiency, and thrust generated by a single propeller blade all show different degrees of interference. It is advised that such interference be considered in the layout design of stratospheric airships to improve propeller efficiency and ensure a longer structure fatigue life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems)
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31 pages, 2633 KB  
Article
Thinking Like an Expert: Aligning LLM Thought Processes for Automated Safety Modeling of High-Altitude Solar Drones
by Qingran Su, Xingze Li, Yuming Ren, Bing Fu, Chunming Hu and Yongfeng Yin
Drones 2025, 9(11), 780; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9110780 - 9 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1522
Abstract
As the application of high-altitude solar drones expands, ensuring their safety is paramount. Traditional safety modeling, which relies on manual expert analysis, struggles to keep pace with rapid development cycles. While Large Language Models (LLMs) offer a path to automation, state-of-the-art reasoning frameworks [...] Read more.
As the application of high-altitude solar drones expands, ensuring their safety is paramount. Traditional safety modeling, which relies on manual expert analysis, struggles to keep pace with rapid development cycles. While Large Language Models (LLMs) offer a path to automation, state-of-the-art reasoning frameworks like Graph of Thoughts (GoT) are too generic, lacking the domain-specific knowledge required for effective application. To address this gap, we introduce K-EGoT, a framework that grounds LLM reasoning in a verifiable, domain-specific knowledge base. Our method introduces a “Safety Rationale”—a mandatory, auditable link between LLM-generated model extensions and expert-curated safety principles. We then train a specialized model using a novel “thought process alignment” strategy, applying Direct Preference Optimization (DPO) to the quality of these rationales to ensure the model’sreasoning aligns with expert logic. On a high-fidelity dataset for the flight control–energy coupling problem, our 7B K-EGoT model achieved a Safety Extension Score (SES) of 92.7, significantly outperforming the 84.7 score from standard GoT prompting. Our work delivers a reliable and auditable solution for automated safety modeling for this critical class of drones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems)
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20 pages, 4116 KB  
Article
Temperature Field Distribution Testing and Improvement of Near Space Environment Simulation Test System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
by Jinghui Gao, Tianjin Cheng, Qing Hao, Chen Li, Chunlian Duan, Xiang Ma, Yanchu Yang, Hui Feng and Yongxiang Li
Drones 2025, 9(10), 726; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9100726 - 21 Oct 2025
Viewed by 740
Abstract
Temperature distribution inside the vacuum chamber of the TRX 2000(A) near space environment simulation test system (NSESTS) was investigated through both experimentation and computational fluid dynamics simulation. Comparison between the experimental result and the simulation result showed that these two results were very [...] Read more.
Temperature distribution inside the vacuum chamber of the TRX 2000(A) near space environment simulation test system (NSESTS) was investigated through both experimentation and computational fluid dynamics simulation. Comparison between the experimental result and the simulation result showed that these two results were very close to each other, validating the feasibility of using the simulation method to study the temperature distribution inside the NSESTS. Then, the effect of wind, either downwind or upwind, on temperature uniformity inside the NSESTS was investigated through the simulation method. The simulation result showed that the non-uniformity coefficient will be reduced from 0.2757 to 0.2012 (by 27.1%) in the case of downwind and to 0.2055 (by 25.5%) in the case of upwind. Then, the simulation result was validated by experiment. The result of this research indicates that the temperature uniformity can be greatly improved through installment of additional fans inside the NSESTS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems)
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16 pages, 1850 KB  
Article
Rapid Optimal Matching Design of Heterogeneous Propeller Propulsion Systems for High-Altitude Unmanned Airships
by Miao Zhang, Xiangyu Wang, Zhiwei Zhang, Bo Wang, Junjie Cheng and Jian Zhang
Drones 2025, 9(10), 718; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9100718 - 16 Oct 2025
Viewed by 828
Abstract
In order to enhance the wind-resistance capability and achieve a lightweight design of high-altitude unmanned airships, this study proposes a rapid optimization method for a heterogeneous propeller propulsion system. This system integrates contra-rotating and ducted propellers to exploit their respective aerodynamic advantages. First, [...] Read more.
In order to enhance the wind-resistance capability and achieve a lightweight design of high-altitude unmanned airships, this study proposes a rapid optimization method for a heterogeneous propeller propulsion system. This system integrates contra-rotating and ducted propellers to exploit their respective aerodynamic advantages. First, surrogate models of the contra-rotating propeller, contra-rotating motor, ducted propeller, and ducted motor were constructed using an optimal Latin hypercube sampling method based on the max–min criterion. Then, within the optimization framework, propeller–motor matching principles and energy balance constraints were incorporated to minimize the total weight of the propulsion and energy systems. A case study on a conventional high-altitude unmanned airship demonstrates that, under the same wind-resistance capability, the adoption of the heterogeneous propeller electric propulsion system reduces the total propulsion-and-energy system weight by 24.94%. This method integrates the advantages of contra-rotating and ducted propellers, thereby overcoming the limitations of conventional propulsion architectures. It provides a new approach for designing lightweight, efficient, and long-endurance propulsion systems for near-space high-altitude platforms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems)
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25 pages, 5138 KB  
Article
Off-Policy Deep Reinforcement Learning for Path Planning of Stratospheric Airship
by Jiawen Xie, Wanning Huang, Jinggang Miao, Jialong Li and Shenghong Cao
Drones 2025, 9(9), 650; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9090650 - 16 Sep 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1406
Abstract
The stratospheric airship is a vital platform in near-space applications, and achieving autonomous transfer has become a key research focus to meet the demands of diverse mission scenarios. The core challenge lies in planning feasible and efficient paths, which is difficult for traditional [...] Read more.
The stratospheric airship is a vital platform in near-space applications, and achieving autonomous transfer has become a key research focus to meet the demands of diverse mission scenarios. The core challenge lies in planning feasible and efficient paths, which is difficult for traditional algorithms due to the time-varying environment and the highly coupled multi-system dynamics of the airship. This study proposes a deep reinforcement learning algorithm, termed reward-prioritized Long Short-Term Memory Twin Delayed Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (RPL-TD3). The method incorporates an LSTM network to effectively capture the influence of historical states on current decision-making, thereby improving performance in tasks with strong temporal dependencies. Furthermore, to address the slow convergence commonly seen in off-policy methods, a reward-prioritized experience replay mechanism is introduced. This mechanism stores and replays experiences in the form of sequential data chains, labels them with sequence-level rewards, and prioritizes high-value experiences during training to accelerate convergence. Comparative experiments with other algorithms indicate that, under the same computational resources, RPL-TD3 improves convergence speed by 62.5% compared to the baseline algorithm without the reward-prioritized experience replay mechanism. In both simulation and generalization experiments, the proposed method is capable of planning feasible paths under kinematic and energy constraints. Compared with peer algorithms, it achieves the shortest flight time while maintaining a relatively high level of average residual energy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems)
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23 pages, 2430 KB  
Article
Error-Constrained Fixed-Time Synchronized Trajectory Tracking Control for Unmanned Airships with Disturbances
by Jie Chen, Jiace Yuan and Ruohan Li
Drones 2025, 9(6), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9060403 - 29 May 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1138
Abstract
This work focuses on fixed-time synchronized trajectory tracking control for unmanned airships subject to time-varying error constraints and unknown disturbances. First, to guarantee strict adherence to prescribed performance bounds, an error transformation function (ETF) is integrated into the control algorithm, which can ensure [...] Read more.
This work focuses on fixed-time synchronized trajectory tracking control for unmanned airships subject to time-varying error constraints and unknown disturbances. First, to guarantee strict adherence to prescribed performance bounds, an error transformation function (ETF) is integrated into the control algorithm, which can ensure all tracking errors remain within specified constraints throughout the convergence process. Then, a Norm-Normalized sign (NNS) function is incorporated to develop the control scheme, guaranteeing simultaneous convergence of all tracking error components. Additionally, a novel fixed-time synchronized disturbance observer (FTSDO) is constructed and implemented to achieve precise disturbance estimation while ensuring synchronous convergence of the estimation errors. Finally, the developed control strategy is analytically verified to guarantee fixed-time synchronized stability (FTSS). To assess its performance, multiple simulations are executed. The results clearly demonstrate the proposed control scheme enables the airship to track the prescribed trajectory precisely in fixed time, and the convergence of all tracking error components is achieved synchronously. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems)
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