HAPSMobile, a start-up backed by SoftBank with minority investment by AeroVironment, reached an altitude of 62,500 feet (approximately 19 kilometers) during the fifth test flight for “Sunglider,” a solar-powered unmanned aircraft system (“UAS”) designed for stratospheric telecommunications platform systems.
The test flight, which took place on September 21, 2020 (MT) at Spaceport America in New Mexico, lasted a total 20 hours and 16 minutes, with 5 hours and 38 minutes of them in the stratosphere.
Sunglider completed its flight on a pre-flight battery charge and solar energy during the flight. Sunglider also demonstrated its high-performance capabilities under extremely demanding conditions where wind speeds were greater than 58 knots (approximately 30 meters per second) and temperatures fell as low as -73 degrees Celsius.
Sunglider also carried a telecommunications payload from Loon. Smartphones on the ground connected to the Internet via the Loon payload in the stratosphere. Team members in New Mexico using the connection successfully placed a video call to Japan.
