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Brin’s airships, with carbon-fiber tubing, would be lighter and sturdier than the ones from a century ago.

Brin’s airships, with carbon-fiber tubing, would be lighter and sturdier than the ones from a century ago.

Photographer: Balazs Gardi for Bloomberg Businessweek
Businessweek
Feature

Sergey Brin Has a Secret Plan to Put Airships Back in the Skies

The billionaire and co-founder of Google has quietly helped modernize a long-forgotten form of flight—one that could be used to transport cargo or assist during humanitarian relief missions.

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“Welcome to LTA: Where we are going to darken the skies.”

This is how Alan Weston often greets people visiting his factory. He’s partly joking, partly expressing aspiration. Weston is the chief executive officer of LTA Research & Exploration LLC, maker of airships. LTA, which stands for “Lighter Than Air,” has operated mostly in secrecy since its founding in 2016 at the behest of its backer, Google co-founder Sergey Brin. That is, until now. After years of work, LTA is getting ready to unveil the Pathfinder 1, the first in what the company intends to be a sky-darkening fleet of airships.

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