Sceye's stratospheric airship flies nearly 30,000 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean

American company Sceye has completed a record-breaking test flight of its uncrewed stratospheric platform HAPS (High-Altitude Platform Systems) — a helium airship that operates at an altitude of roughly 20 kilometers. The aircraft launched on August 9, 2026, from the company's headquarters in Moriarty, New Mexico, reached Japan after 13 days, and returned to Moriarty on September 5, landing safely following its final round of tests.

According to the company, over the course of the Service Test 1 (ST1) mission, the platform covered nearly 30,000 kilometers — a transoceanic flight across the Pacific. During the day, the aircraft runs on solar power, switching to batteries at night. Platforms like this are being developed to serve as flying stations for broadband internet and 4G/5G/6G networks.

What the flight tested

According to Sceye, the mission confirmed the reliability of the aircraft itself, along with its onboard systems, payload, and ground infrastructure. The platform tested mobile broadband connectivity for standard, unmodified devices via SoftBank Corp.'s core network. Engineers also tested edge computing performed directly on board the platform, as well as communication with drones — a step that should help advance three-dimensional communication networks.

Company representatives noted that this was the first successful test in which a mobile core network and a web server for data processing were installed directly on a HAPS platform. Requests were processed entirely on board, with results sent straight back to users' smartphones.

Infrastructure of the future in the stratosphere

Sceye founder and CEO Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen said the ST1 mission proved the HAPS platform's readiness and confirmed that the stratosphere could indeed become the site for building future infrastructure beyond Earth's surface. According to him, harnessing the stratosphere will bring the world closer to permanent internet connectivity, including the long-awaited arrival of 6G networks.

During testing, the platform was equipped with the SceyeCELL system, which functions as a mobile transmitter in the sky, providing broadband connectivity to ordinary user devices straight from the stratosphere. The company says that, once fully operational, a single such platform could replace around 500 ground-based cell towers.

Developers believe the stratosphere is ideally suited for such tasks: it's close enough to Earth to provide high-speed connectivity and surveillance, yet high enough to cover vast territories. Importantly, conditions in the stratosphere resemble those in space, but without the costs and drawbacks associated with orbital flights.

Source: osel.cz