Video　stabilization　has　been　gaining　in　importance　in　earth　observation　and　video　surveillance　on　boarded　of　airship　platforms.　As　the　airship　platforms　have　obvious　low-frequency　vibration　caused　by　wind　and　the　unstable　attitude　may　also　lead　to　geometric　distortion　in　the　video　streams,　and　most　of　the　traditional　methods　are　designed　for　casual　handheld　devices　which　cannot　effectively　handle　those　kinds　of　problems,　a　new　video　stabilization　method　for　airship　earth　observation　is　proposed.　In　this　method,　a　modified　camera　path　planning　method　based　on　piecewise　linear　L1　optimization　is　given　under　the　specific　motion　properties　of　airship　platform　and　the　needs　of　geometric　correction　for　each　frame,　and　the　camera　path　reconstruction　is　carried　out　with　vision　based　motion　estimation　and　sparse　GPS　and　attitude　data.　The　effectiveness　of　our　method　is　confirmed　by　quantitative　experiments　over　a　variety　of　video　streams.　©　Springer　International　Publishing　Switzerland　2015.