HAPSMobile’s Sunglider solar-powered unnmanned aircraft system has completed its first stratospheric flight reaching a height of 19,050 metres.
The test flight lasted a total 20 hours and 16 minutes, with five hours and 38 minutes of them in the stratosphere.
Sunglider also demonstrated performance capabilities under extremely demanding conditions where wind speeds were greater than 30 metres per second and temperatures fell as low as minus 73 degrees Celsius.
In addition to reaching the stratospheric flight milestone, an internet connectivity test using a communications payload jointly developed with Loon was performed during the flight.
Using smartphones connected to the Internet through the payload in the stratosphere, members from Loon and AeroVironment successfully made a video call to HAPSMobile members based in Japan.
HAPSMobile chief executive Junichi Miyakawa said: “Watching this test flight, I was reminded of ‘Castle in the Sky,’ the anime directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 1986, and how the airship in the story filled me with aspiration.
“We once again moved one step closer to our goal of building a base station that floats in the sky solely on solar energy.
“Even though the temperature fell below 73 degrees Celsius, our work on endurance tests bore fruit and resulted in a successful test flight.
“On the day of the test, Sunglider faced aerial currents of roughly 30 meters per second, so I was relieved when it hit the runway after clearing all test items.
“In this test flight, we also successfully conducted communications with smartphones on the ground and obtained data for fully automated piloting.
“While there is still much room for improvement, we will continue to work toward realising our dream.”