AALTO HAPS

AALTO HAPS, an Airbus subsidiary founded in 2022 and based in Farnborough, United Kingdom, specializes in High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) technology. The company designs and manufactures the Zephyr, a fixed-wing, solar-electric aircraft designed for persistent stratospheric flight. Zephyr operates above 60,000 feet, positioning it above weather patterns and conventional air traffic, and has demonstrated the capability of continuous flight for over 67 days – a world record for fixed-wing HAPS.

AALTO’s core offering revolves around leveraging Zephyr for two primary service areas: high-resolution Earth observation and persistent connectivity. Through its Strat-Observer service, the company provides very-high resolution imagery and near-real-time video, covering approximately 2500 km² per day at 18cm resolution. Alternatively, Zephyr can be equipped with connectivity payloads to provide low-latency communication over an area of up to 7,500 square kilometers.

Recent developments include a USD$100 million investment led by NTT DOCOMO and Space Compass, alongside partnerships to serve the Japanese market and explore connectivity services. This investment underscores the growing commercial interest in AALTO’s technology. AALTO HAPS uniquely positions itself as a provider of long-duration, stratospheric platforms offering a flexible and cost-effective complement to traditional satellite and UAS-based Earth observation and communication solutions.