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The founder of the company that tried to commercially operate the Russian Mir space station is resurfacing, aiming to deploy high-altitude platforms (HAP) as an alternative to space-based telecommunications.
American space entrepreneur Walt Anderson said he is looking to set up assembly of the HAPs at Lydd Airport in southeast England with a goal of being able to offer commercial service in less than two years, once funding is secured.
With the HAPs, Anderson said customers will be able to connect people in hard-to-reach places where fiber cannot affordably be deployed and to users who cannot afford satellite service. Avealto, the company Anderson has set up, is targeting Southeast Asia, Africa or the Caribbean.
The service would flow through a bent-pipe telecommunications payload hosted on 331-ft.-long, helium-filled airships that are effectively stationary in the stratosphere at around 65,000 ft. Each HAP would provide coverage across a 150-mi. footprint.
"We're going to be 80% lower cost than Starlink," he told reporters Oct. 1.
Avealto is not pursuing the direct-to-device market or military market, but wants to work with mobile network operators. The pitch to telecommunications providers and governments is also that they retain control within their borders over the network, Anderson said.
The company, which has spent around $11.6 million over more than 13 years to get the technology ready, is in discussions with the Malaysian government for a potential deployment, Anderson said. It is looking to raise $50 million to set up the factory for the HAPs and build the first three vehicles, infrastructure in Malaysia and cover running costs.
Talks are underway with both the local telecommunications and aviation regulators, Anderson said. Malaysia has asked for a demonstration of the technology at a subscale level, with Avealto looking to fly an existing, 56-ft.-long prototype at an altitude of around 1,000 ft. to show the ability to provide the link between two points. Avealto has been working on its demonstration system in Wales, but may move the demonstration elsewhere given the seasonally bad weather as it eyes a test potentially before year-end.
If the Malaysia effort does not progress, Anderson said the company may shift its focus to the Caribbean to provide additional bandwidth to the large cruise ship industry operating there.
Anderson said the team had to develop the HAPs on its own and has been trying to source parts, as much as possible, in Europe to avoid national export controls elsewhere.
Each HAP would be able to fly for about three to four months and then be replaced by a spare when it lands to refresh the helium, replace batteries about every nine months and conduct other system maintenance and upgrades.
Anderson said he has secured supplier quotes, including to build the factory. One of the schedule drivers will be getting local construction approval, he said, though work on the HAPs can begin elsewhere while the company tries to get the factory in place.
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