CargoLifter operational in 2002

The CL 75 AC cargo airship, a 61-metre-diameter balloon, will be ready to commercially transport loads weighing up to 75 tons at the beginning of the 2002/2003 financial year.

CargoLifter AG, the German logistics company, said the CL 75 AC was pulled by mobile cranes for one kilometer and anchored to a neighbouring airfield earlier this month.

This first outdoor trial represents the first practical proof that the system can move outside of the hangar, said the company.