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Sceye’s SE2 solar-powered high-altitude airship was launched from Roswell, New Mexico, on March 25.
Stratospheric airship startup Sceye has completed a 12-day mission during which its solar-powered SE2 high-altitude platform system (HAPS) flew 6,400 mi. from New Mexico to the coast of Brazil at altitudes of more than 52,000 ft.
The Endurance Program flight moves the company closer to commercial deployment for telecommunications and environmental monitoring.
The uncrewed SE2 was launched from Roswell, Mew Mexico, on March 25 and spent more than 88 hr. flying across several selected locations before completing its flight on April 6 with a planned and controlled flight termination into international waters off the coast of Brazil, Sceye says.
The airship completed one full day-night diurnal cycle over New Mexico and three consecutive diurnals off the Brazilian coast. “Mission control operated out of Roswell for the first few hours while the team verified the vehicle was in good health, then transferred control to the Sceye Operations Center at our Moriarty [New Mexico] office,” the company says.
The Endurance Program built on the 2024 Control Dynamics Program, during which Sceye says its airship became the first HAPS to close the power loop in the stratosphere by staying powered through a full day-night cycle while maintaining position over an area of operations.
Designed to stay aloft for months, the 270-ft.-long SE2 has solar cells on the upper side of the envelope that generate power during the day to charge lithium-sulfur batteries that power the airship at night. The 425-Wh/kg batteries power an electrically driven tail-mounted propeller.
During the Endurance Program flight, the SE2 maintained power, position and altitudes of 52,000 ft. and higher through each day and night cycle. The airship achieved a station-keeping radius as low as 1 km (0.62 mi.), Sceye says, adding the SE2 also closed the pressure loop, the in-house-manufactured hull maintaining vehicle pressure through each day-night cycle.
The Endurance Program was focused on aligning flight duration with commercial requirements and establishing a stable platform configuration for long-duration operations, the company says. The first pre-commercial test flight is scheduled for launch this summer in Japan, with the goal of providing a backhaul connection to SoftBank’s core network.
The SE2 is planned to transit from New Mexico to Japan for the test flight, which is scheduled to include several demonstrations of how the company’s SceyeCELL airborne cellular network antenna can provide high-speed connectivity from the stratosphere in emergency and disaster response scenarios. SceyeCELL performs real-time 2D beam formation and motion compensation to dynamically steer signals.
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