Google’s Sergey Brin Reportedly Building Secret Airship In An Old NASA Hanger
Amassing great wealth affords a person the opportunity to splurge on all kinds of luxuries. Some end up buying a yacht or their own personal jet, while others spend an obscene amount of money on cars, whether they're vintage automobiles or modern muscle vehicles like the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. Google's Sergey Brin has something else in mind—a freaking airship.
Citing "four people with knowledge of the project," Bloomberg says Brin has been secretly building a massive airship inside of Hangar 2 at the NASA Ames Researcher Center. Details are fairly light, though apparently it looks a lot like a zeppelin. Nobody seems to know if this is a hobby of Brin's or if he has an actual business plan for his airship, and he's not saying one way or the other.
"Sorry, I don't have anything say about this topic right now," Brin stated in an email.
Apparently Bring has been intrigued by airships for a very long time. It started when he would visit Ames, which happens to be located next to the headquarters for Alphabet, Google's parent company, in Mountain View, California. It was once home to the USS Macon, an airship built by the U.S. Navy. When Brin viewed photographs of the Macon three years ago, he decided he wanted to build one.
Brin's project is entirely separate from Google and Alphabet. The construction of his airship is being overseen by Alan Weston, former director of programs at NASA Ames. Weston has an interesting past, one that includes being a member of the Dangers Sports Club, a group of smartypants adrenaline junkies who performed risk-taking stunts, such as catapulting people across fields into nets. The group is credited with inventing the practice of bungee jumping.
Weston would later join the Air Force then NASA where he would work on a number of projects. In a radio interview four years ago, Weston outlined plans for an airship that could haul cargo. He touted the benefits of such a thing, as an airship would be more fuel efficient than airplanes and would be capable of delivering cargo directly to where they're needed.
He also described a prototype of a helium-based craft, one that could carry 500 tons without a ballast. It is not clear if either of those ideas are related to Brin's airship, but either way, it appears Brin's project is in the right hands.
Thumbnail Image Source: Flickr (Freedom To Marry)
Citing "four people with knowledge of the project," Bloomberg says Brin has been secretly building a massive airship inside of Hangar 2 at the NASA Ames Researcher Center. Details are fairly light, though apparently it looks a lot like a zeppelin. Nobody seems to know if this is a hobby of Brin's or if he has an actual business plan for his airship, and he's not saying one way or the other.
"Sorry, I don't have anything say about this topic right now," Brin stated in an email.
Apparently Bring has been intrigued by airships for a very long time. It started when he would visit Ames, which happens to be located next to the headquarters for Alphabet, Google's parent company, in Mountain View, California. It was once home to the USS Macon, an airship built by the U.S. Navy. When Brin viewed photographs of the Macon three years ago, he decided he wanted to build one.
Brin's project is entirely separate from Google and Alphabet. The construction of his airship is being overseen by Alan Weston, former director of programs at NASA Ames. Weston has an interesting past, one that includes being a member of the Dangers Sports Club, a group of smartypants adrenaline junkies who performed risk-taking stunts, such as catapulting people across fields into nets. The group is credited with inventing the practice of bungee jumping.
Weston would later join the Air Force then NASA where he would work on a number of projects. In a radio interview four years ago, Weston outlined plans for an airship that could haul cargo. He touted the benefits of such a thing, as an airship would be more fuel efficient than airplanes and would be capable of delivering cargo directly to where they're needed.
He also described a prototype of a helium-based craft, one that could carry 500 tons without a ballast. It is not clear if either of those ideas are related to Brin's airship, but either way, it appears Brin's project is in the right hands.
Thumbnail Image Source: Flickr (Freedom To Marry)
