The world's most advanced solar-powered High Altitude Platform Station
Zephyr HAPS
Zephyr is a world-record-breaking High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS). Its persistence enables continuous flight for months at a time. Flying above 60,000 ft, Zephyr operates in the stratosphere, above weather and conventional air traffic. It remains the only fixed-wing HAPS to have demonstrated day and night longevity in the stratosphere. Zephyr can provide high-quality imagery and live video with Airbus' Strat-Observer service, or serve as a tower in the sky to deliver direct-to-device connectivity with a reach of up to 250 terrestrial towers in difficult mountainous terrain.
Zephyr relies on solar energy, with secondary batteries charged in daylight to power overnight flight.
Strat-Observer is a new generation of Earth Observation service specialized in capturing very high-resolution images and live video from the stratosphere. It is a flexible, cost-effective complement to traditional Earth Observation, like satellites and UAS. This new service provides a valuable service to multiple use cases like maritime surveillance, border monitoring, mapping, forest fires and emergency response in general.
The payload, designed by Airbus Defence and Space, is designed to fly on different types of HAPS (High Altitude Platform Station), such as AALTO’s Zephyr.
By using a steerable high resolution optical camera, the service can capture typically 2500 km² per day at 18cm resolution. The camera footprint is 1 km² but thanks to its steering capacity, it can reach any point in an area of 40 x 30 km at any time.
Airbus partners with Space Compass to serve the Japanese market with mobile connectivity and earth observation solutions
Airbus HAPS Connectivity Business (Airbus HAPS) has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Space Compass Corporation of Japan (Space Compass) for a cooperation agreement to service the Japanese market with mobile connectivity and earth observation services from the Stratosphere with Airbus’ record breaking Zephyr platform.
Airbus and Salam join forces for High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) connectivity services
Airbus´ HAPS Connectivity Business has signed a strategic partnership with Salam, a leading Saudi telecommunications and ICT company and part of the Mawarid Media & Communications Group (MMCG), to progress the development of private networks, IoT applications, disaster management solutions and other connectivity and high-altitude Earth observation services from the stratosphere to serve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Airbus to deliver connectivity services using its leading Zephyr High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS)
Airbus has launched a connectivity services business through the creation of a dedicated HAPS Services Business based around Zephyr, Airbus’ leading HAPS technology platform.
