The Boeing Company has unveiled the hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye unmanned airborne system for collecting data and communications, a demonstrator that will stay aloft at 65,000 feet for up to four days.

Phantom Eye is powered by two 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engines that provide 150 horsepower each. It has a 150-foot wingspan, will cruise at approximately 150 knots, and can carry up to a 450-pound payload.

Later this summer, Phantom Eye will be shipped to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to begin a series of ground and taxi tests in preparation for its first flight in early 2011. That debut flight is expected to last between four and eight hours.

More info: Boeing Phantom Works