The sky is the limit: stratospheric projects of Airbus, Google and SoftBank
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2024 9:17 am
Until recently, the stratosphere remained a poorly understood region, located above commercial airspace but below the altitudes at which satellites fly. Today, it is attracting increasing attention from startups and corporations. This article discusses the main participants in the new space race.
The Zephyr glider has the same wingspan as a passenger plane, but weighs less than the average adult.
“It’s a solar-powered aircraft that flies 18-24 km above the Earth, in the Bulk SMS Singapore stratosphere, outside regulated airspace,” explains Samer Halawi, CEO of Aalto, a startup founded by Airbus in 2023 to create and produce the Zephyr.
The gliders are launched manually by a crew of five and take ten hours to slowly ascend into the stratosphere. Once there, the unmanned aircraft maintains its position.
Until recently, the stratosphere was a little-studied region, above commercial airspace but below the altitudes at which satellites fly. But it is fast becoming a new frontier in the commercial space race, one that could help us better prepare for floods and wildfires.
And, as the Chinese spy balloon discovered by the US last year demonstrated, innovation in this area could make us more open to surveillance than ever.
A new kind of space race
The Zephyr glider has the same wingspan as a passenger plane, but weighs less than the average adult.
“It’s a solar-powered aircraft that flies 18-24 km above the Earth, in the Bulk SMS Singapore stratosphere, outside regulated airspace,” explains Samer Halawi, CEO of Aalto, a startup founded by Airbus in 2023 to create and produce the Zephyr.
The gliders are launched manually by a crew of five and take ten hours to slowly ascend into the stratosphere. Once there, the unmanned aircraft maintains its position.
Until recently, the stratosphere was a little-studied region, above commercial airspace but below the altitudes at which satellites fly. But it is fast becoming a new frontier in the commercial space race, one that could help us better prepare for floods and wildfires.
And, as the Chinese spy balloon discovered by the US last year demonstrated, innovation in this area could make us more open to surveillance than ever.
A new kind of space race