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April 18, 2023
EuroHAPS – Stratobus
The European Union’s project “High altitude platform systems demonstration” (EuroHAPS) will develop 3 major Lighter-than-Air (LTA) technology demonstrators: Strategic Airship (Stratobus from Thales Alenia Space), Hybrid Airship (HHAA from CIRA) and Autonomous Stratospheric balloon system (ASBaS from ESG and TAO).
• It significantly increases the area monitored by a single platform, especially by eliminating terrain masking.
• It offers an ability to linger over an area, thus improving resilience in relation to current naval, airborne, ground and space solutions.
“The aim of this contract is to assess the relevance of StratobusTM type continuous stratospheric solutions to meet defense needs, and also marks a major step forward in the definition of a possible operational solution in conjunction with users” said Jean-Philippe Chessel, Director of the StratobusTM product line. “It will enable us to prepare the foundations for the development of a complete solution, including high-reliability autonomous avionics, as well as all control aspects. We are aiming to carry out a flight demonstration by the end of 2023. The StratobusTM project has been supported by the French government from the outset within the scope of the Investment in the Future plan and a European regional development fund (FEDER) for the French Riviera region.”
About StratobusTM
Thales Alenia Space’s StratobusTM is an autonomous stratospheric airship in the HAPS [High Altitude Platform System] category, operating from an altitude of 20 kilometers (stratosphere). Offering continuous regional coverage, it’s a perfect fit with satellite solutions. StratobusTM can carry payloads for the surveillance of borders and high-value sites on the ground or at sea (such as video-surveillance of offshore platforms), as well as security (the fight against terrorism, drug-trafficking, etc.), environmental monitoring (forest fires, beach erosion, pollution, etc.) and communications (internet, 5G).
Related links:
Thales Alenia Space: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en
Aerostar: https://aerostar.com/products/balloons-airships/stratospheric-airships
Images, Video, Text, Credits: European Union/Thales Alenia Space/CIRA/ESG/TAO/Music: “Cloud Echo by TrackTribe” courtesy of YouTube Audio Library/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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