Vacuum Balloon – a 350-Year-Old Dream

The centuries-old idea of a lighter-than-air vacuum balloon has not materialized yet as such structure needs to be both light enough to float in the air and strong enough to withstand atmospheric pressure. We propose a design of a rigid spherical sandwich shell and demonstrate that it can satisfy these stringent conditions with commercially available materials, such as boron carbide ceramic and aluminum alloy honeycomb. A finite element analysis was employed to demonstrate that buckling can be prevented in such a structure. Other modes of failure were evaluated. Approaches to manufacturing are discussed briefly.