If you want to provide high-speed internet to people in remote communities, why not beam it to them from a high-flying zeppelin-like aircraft? That’s just one of the proposed purposes of Sceye HAPS, which uses solar energy to soar through the stratosphere.
Sceye is an aerospace company based in Roswell, New Mexico, founded in 2014 by Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen. It also owns public health firm Vestergaard, which makes the water purifier LifeStraw.
The Sceye HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station) is a 65 m (213 ft) long, uncrewed, helium-filled aircraft designed to be launched vertically and then ascend to altitudes of 60,000 to 65,000 ft (18,288 to 19,812 m).
It can then hover in place at a specific altitude and set of GPS coordinates, powered by gallium selenide and gallium arsenide solar cells integrated into its entire body's silver foil “solar cloak.”
Sceye
Because it can wait months between service intervals, it can perform tasks such as providing broadband internet connection to underserved communities, monitoring the climate and environment, and watching for wildfires or other natural disasters.
It is already a key component of a New Mexico State project by a consortium of telecommunications companies to bring universal broadband access to the Navajo Nation. The aircraft is also part of a five-year U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study aimed at monitoring and measuring methane emissions.
Sceye
Sceye HAPS made its first flights in 2021, reaching a maximum altitude of 64,600 ft (19,690 m). It also used an onboard 4G active antenna array and beamforming technology to maintain an LTE OpenRAN data connection with a smartphone on the ground, covering a record-breaking distance of more than 140 km (87 mi). LTE typically has a range of around 100 km (62 mi).
The aircraft's latest milestone came last week, when it demonstrated the ability to charge its batteries via solar cells during the day and then hover in place overnight using that battery power. It launched from Sceye's New Mexico facility at 7:36 a.m. on August 15, reaching an altitude of 61,000 ft (18,593 m), and did not land until 12:21 p.m. the following day.
Once airborne, the aircraft also demonstrated the ability to remain in place over one area of operations and be transported to another area.
Sceye
“The flight was a significant demonstration of our platform’s performance and endurance,” said Stephanie Luongo, Chief of Mission Operations. “I look forward to seeing the growth and scaling of capabilities with each flight.”
Sceye HAPS has completed a total of 20 test flights so far – one of which can be seen in the video below – and two more are planned for later this year. We’ve heard that plans call for the aircraft to enter commercial use in 2025. There could be some competition, as companies like Thales Alenia Space and Lockheed Martin are hard at work on similar platforms of their own.
Using Renewable Energy to Reach the Stratosphere
Source: Sceye