AeroVironment
Successfully Completes Sunglider Solar HAPS
Stratospheric Test Flight, Surpassing 60,000
Feet Altitude and Demonstrating Broadband Mobile
Connectivity
October 07, 2020
AeroVironment, Inc.
announced the Sunglider™ solar-powered
high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) achieved
key test milestones, including reaching an
altitude of more than 60,000 feet above sea
level and successfully demonstrating mobile
broadband communication. Sunglider’s development
and testing is funded by HAPSMobile Inc., a
joint venture majority-owned by SoftBank Corp.
(TOKYO: 9434) and minority-owned by
AeroVironment.
During the test flight,
which began at 5:16 a.m. MDT on September 21 and
concluded at 1:32 a.m. MDT on September 22, the
AeroVironment team piloted Sunglider to a
stratospheric altitude of 62,500 feet above
Spaceport America in New Mexico. Sunglider
successfully achieved major test objectives
relating to propulsion, power systems, flight
control, navigation and datalink integrity, as
well as structural performance during the most
turbulent phases of the flight as it entered and
exited the jet stream.
The broadband communication
demonstration successfully linked teams in
Tokyo, Spaceport America and Silicon Valley
using an LTE payload jointly developed by
Alphabet’s Loon LLC and HAPSMobile. Employing
standard LTE smartphones, a team at Spaceport
America conducted multiple video calls via the
Sunglider’s payload while the aircraft circled
for more than five hours in the stratosphere.
“In less than three years
AeroVironment and HAPSMobile have made
incredible progress, developing two Sunglider
solar HAPS unmanned aircraft and performing five
consecutive flight demonstrations, culminating
in this latest significant milestone,” said
Wahid Nawabi, president and chief executive
officer of AeroVironment. “Reaching
stratospheric altitude, maintaining continuous
flight for more than 20 hours, achieving key
test objectives and demonstrating seamless
broadband communication illustrate the
tremendous potential HAPS technology offers to
expand connectivity globally. We look forward to
maintaining our momentum toward aircraft
certification and commercialization, working in
close partnership with HAPSMobile as we
establish a disruptive capability that offers
tremendous value creation potential.”
The Sunglider, a
solar-powered HAPS, has a wingspan of 262 feet
and is propelled by 10 electric motors powered
by solar panels covering the surface of the wing
and rechargeable battery packs, resulting in
zero emissions. Flying at an altitude of
approximately 65,000 feet above sea level and
above the clouds, the Sunglider can carry
payloads weighing as much as 150 pounds and is
designed for continuous, extended missions of
months without landing.