A $150million U.S. Army airship crash landed in woods today after it could only reach half of its expected altitude on a test flight. The unmanned solar-powered airship was only in the air for less than three hours after it launched in Akron, Ohio, on Wednesday morning. It ascended as planned up to 32,000ft but the Lockheed Martin airship then encountered problems and was not able to get up to 60,000ft. Scroll down for video . 'Controlled descent': The unmanned solar-powered airship was only in the air for less than three hours after it launched in Ohio on Wednesday morning . A decision was made to end the flight and make what the company called a ‘controlled descent’ into a remote area in Greene County, Pennsylvania. The HALE-D airship is a joint project between the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Lockheed Martin. The remote-controlled  ‘super-blimp’ cost around $150million to build, reported Fox 8 news. Nobody was injured on the ground by the landing. Up and down: It ascended as planned up to 32,000ft but the Lockheed Martin airship then encountered problems and was not able to get up to 60,000ft . A Lockheed Martin spokesman denied that the landing was a crash, and instead described it as a ‘controlled descent’. 'A decision was made to end the flight . and make a controlled descent into a non-populated area in southwestern . Pennsylvania at 8:26am' Lockheed Martin spokesman . The spokesman said they had a ‘successful launch’ at 5:47am and ‘the aircraft ascended as planned up to 32,000ft’. ‘However, an anomaly prevented our ability to ascend to the target 60,000 feet,’ the spokesman added. 'A decision was made to end the flight and make a controlled descent into a non-populated area in southwestern Pennsylvania at 8:26am.’ Huge: The impressive-looking HALE-D airship is a joint project between the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Lockheed Martin . The aircraft is 240ft long and has a diameter of 70ft, with a hull volume of 500,000ft3, according to the company's website. It is unmanned and fitted with sensors to provide surveillance, reported CandtonRep. It was being tested for use as a communications relay. It could be used in Afghanistan and Iraq and is intended to provide low-cost and long-endurance surveillance possibilities. The WTRF 7 newsroom said it had received calls from people believing the ship was a UFO after it had been launched. See video here .
Airship launched in Ohio comes down in Pennsylvania .
But Lockheed Martin says it was a 'controlled descent'
Aircraft could only get up to 32,000ft - not 60,000ft .
A $150million U.S. Army airship crash landed in woods today after it could only reach half of its expected altitude on a test flight. The unmanned solar-powered airship was only in the air for less than three hours after it launched in Akron, Ohio, on Wednesday morning. It ascended as planned up to 32,000ft but the Lockheed Martin airship then encountered problems and was not able to get up to 60,000ft. Scroll down for video . 'Controlled descent': The unmanned solar-powered airship was only in the air for less than three hours after it launched in Ohio on Wednesday morning . A decision was made to end the flight and make what the company called a ‘controlled descent’ into a remote area in Greene County, Pennsylvania. The HALE-D airship is a joint project between the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Lockheed Martin. The remote-controlled  ‘super-blimp’ cost around $150million to build, reported Fox 8 news. Nobody was injured on the ground by the landing. Up and down: It ascended as planned up to 32,000ft but the Lockheed Martin airship then encountered problems and was not able to get up to 60,000ft . A Lockheed Martin spokesman denied that the landing was a crash, and instead described it as a ‘controlled descent’. 'A decision was made to end the flight . and make a controlled descent into a non-populated area in southwestern . Pennsylvania at 8:26am' Lockheed Martin spokesman . The spokesman said they had a ‘successful launch’ at 5:47am and ‘the aircraft ascended as planned up to 32,000ft’. ‘However, an anomaly prevented our ability to ascend to the target 60,000 feet,’ the spokesman added. 'A decision was made to end the flight and make a controlled descent into a non-populated area in southwestern Pennsylvania at 8:26am.’ Huge: The impressive-looking HALE-D airship is a joint project between the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Lockheed Martin . The aircraft is 240ft long and has a diameter of 70ft, with a hull volume of 500,000ft3, according to the company's website. It is unmanned and fitted with sensors to provide surveillance, reported CandtonRep. It was being tested for use as a communications relay. It could be used in Afghanistan and Iraq and is intended to provide low-cost and long-endurance surveillance possibilities. The WTRF 7 newsroom said it had received calls from people believing the ship was a UFO after it had been launched. See video here .
planned up to 32,000ft but the Lockheed Martin less than three hours after it launched in Ohio problems and was not able to get up to 60,000ft . a ‘controlled descent’. 'A decision was made to