HAPSMobile

Lore & Background

HAPSMobile was formed as a joint venture between AeroVironment and SoftBank, with SoftBank holding a 95% stake. On January 3, 2018, AeroVironment announced it would design and develop a solar-powered, high-altitude, unmanned aircraft and associated ground control stations for $65 million. In November 2018, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center was selected to provide ground and range safety up to 10,000 ft for $791,600. The Hawk30 was rolled out on April 25, 2019, with commercial operations expected to begin in 2023, operating year-round at latitudes 30° north and south of the equator. A later Hawk50 model would allow operations from 50° north and south, covering Japan and North America.

The Hawk30 is a flying-wing design resembling the NASA Helios, built by AeroVironment in Simi Valley, California. It has a 256 ft span with 10 electric-driven propellers. Solar-powered by day and battery-powered by night, it can stay aloft for up to six months initially, with a planned service life of two years. The aircraft is remotely piloted for ascent and descent and operates autonomously in the stratosphere. It provides 4G LTE and 5G direct to devices over a 200 km diameter area; 40 aircraft could cover the entire Japanese archipelago. The system is interoperable with terrestrial cell towers and can serve as a proxy for the SoftBank-backed OneWeb satellite constellation.

On September 11, 2019, the prototype first flew at low altitude at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. Stratospheric flight tests up to 65,000 ft were expected to start before March 31, 2020, from Lanai, Hawaii. Instead, the Hawk30 was tested at Spaceport America in New Mexico, where the local Economic Development Department provided $500,000 in subsidies. On September 21–22, 2020, the Hawk30 (rebranded as Sunglider) flew 20 hours from Spaceport America, reaching 62,500 ft on its fifth demonstration flight, testing long-distance LTE communications developed with Loon.

Reader's Guide

HAPSMobile's significance lies in its attempt to bridge the gap between satellite and terrestrial communications using high-altitude, solar-powered unmanned aircraft. By operating in the stratosphere at 65,000 ft, the Hawk30 can provide persistent 4G LTE and 5G coverage over a 200 km diameter area, directly to standard smartphones, without the latency of satellites. The system is designed to be interoperable with terrestrial cell towers and can act as a proxy for satellite constellations like OneWeb when direct links are not suitable. The collaboration with Loon, a Google/Alphabet subsidiary that developed high-altitude balloons, allowed shared ground stations, communications payloads, and in-flight network connectivity. The Hawk30's development represents a step toward persistent aerial connectivity, with the potential to cover entire countries—40 aircraft could cover Japan. The later Hawk50 model aimed to extend coverage to higher latitudes, including Japan and North America. However, the project faced delays and a shift in test locations from Hawaii to New Mexico, and commercial operations originally planned for 2023 have not been confirmed as achieved. The aircraft's legacy is tied to the broader field of high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS), alongside earlier NASA designs like Pathfinder and Helios, and contemporaries like the QinetiQ Zephyr and BAE Systems PHASA-35.

Did You Know?

• The Hawk30 has a wingspan of 256 ft and is powered by 10 electric-driven propellers.
• On September 21–22, 2020, the Sunglider flew 20 hours and reached 62,500 ft on its fifth demonstration flight.
• SoftBank invested $125 million in Loon and made a similar investment in HAPSMobile.