Airbus Defence & Space-owned AALTO has built on the recent first stratospheric flight over Kenya of its unmanned Zephyr aircraft by conducting a milestone connectivity demonstration for a Japanese consortium which will employ the technology from next year.
Launched from the company’s operating site in Kenya’s Laikipia County, the latest sortie involved the Zephyr – which is dubbed a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) by its developer – operating above 60,000ft for an undisclosed duration.
“Zephyr was equipped with a connectivity payload that made direct communication to a 4G mobile device on the ground and a direct-to-device gateway station in Kenya,” AALTO says. The activity also “included a telephone call from the site in Kenya via Zephyr which was transmitted to the UK over a local internet link”, it adds.
“Connectivity testing was facilitated by the Communications Authority of Kenya,” the company notes.
“AALTO remains at the forefront of HAPS innovation, with Zephyr bridging the gap between ground and space-based networks for the first time,” says chief executive Hughes Boulnois.
A HAPS Japan venture – which includes mobile services provider NTT DOCOMO and Space Compass – last year committed to investing $100 million in AALTO, and to establish commercial activities using its ultra-long-endurance aircraft.
“This year we will work together to progress commercial timelines for entry-into-service in the Japanese market,” says Space Compass co-chief executive Shigehiro Hori. “HAPS will play a critical role in Japan’s communications ecosystem, addressing hard-to-reach areas and supporting responses to events such as natural disasters,” he adds.
“HAPS Japan, AALTO and Airbus Defence & Space are establishing a roadmap for commercial HAPS services to begin in Japan from 2026,” the UK-based developer says.
AALTO earlier this year completed an initial, 13-day flight from its new testing and operating facility in Kenya, with the lightweight, solar-powered aircraft reaching a maximum altitude of 74,000ft.
