aerostat
noun
aero·stat ˈer-ō-ˌstat 
: a lighter-than-air aircraft (such as a balloon or blimp) compare aerodyne
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The signal from an aerostat -- used as a low altitude platform station (LAPS) -- is sufficient for tasks like internet browsing and email, says World Mobile. 
Tom Page, CNN, 12 Jan. 2022 Then a tether rope was cut and the aerostat soared up at a 60 degree angle to the applause and cheers of the throng. Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2021 The imaging system, dubbed the MX-15, attached to the underbelly of the aerostat was roughly the size of a beach ball. Annie Jacobsen, Wired, 20 Jan. 2021 Things are looking good: The sun and a waning gibbous moon compete for attention in a nearly cloudless sky, and an aerostat tethered close to the pad registers almost no wind. Daniel Oberhaus, Wired, 19 Dec. 2019 The aerostat is part of the JLENS surveillance system, designed detect low-flying Russian cruise missiles fired from submarines against the Eastern Seaboard. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 28 Oct. 2015 Predators and aerostats, for instance, cannot fly in thunderstorms or high winds. Ron Nixon, New York Times, 20 June 2017 See More
Tom Page, CNN, 12 Jan. 2022 Then a tether rope was cut and the aerostat soared up at a 60 degree angle to the applause and cheers of the throng. Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2021 The imaging system, dubbed the MX-15, attached to the underbelly of the aerostat was roughly the size of a beach ball. Annie Jacobsen, Wired, 20 Jan. 2021 Things are looking good: The sun and a waning gibbous moon compete for attention in a nearly cloudless sky, and an aerostat tethered close to the pad registers almost no wind. Daniel Oberhaus, Wired, 19 Dec. 2019 The aerostat is part of the JLENS surveillance system, designed detect low-flying Russian cruise missiles fired from submarines against the Eastern Seaboard. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 28 Oct. 2015 Predators and aerostats, for instance, cannot fly in thunderstorms or high winds. Ron Nixon, New York Times, 20 June 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from French aérostat, probably back-formation from aérostatique "of aerostatics," with -stat (after héliostat heliostat) taken as the Greek agentive element -statēs "one who causes to stand" — more at -stat
First Known Use
1784, in the meaning defined above