#USA #SoftBank #Sceye #HAPS #Moriarty

Sceye's Stratospheric Breakthrough

Sceye, an innovative American aerospace company, has recently returned to the United States after an unprecedented stratospheric round trip flight between New Mexico and Japan. This historic journey for Sceye highlights not only the incredible distance covered but also its innovative technology that aims to reshape the future of communication systems.

Launched on August 9, 2026, Sceye's stratospheric platform, operating as an unmanned free balloon, made its way to Japan, reaching the destination 13 days later. The journey covered almost 30,000 kilometers and included a week of operations in the stratosphere above Japan. Sceye, in collaboration with SoftBank Corp., demonstrated its ability to provide high-speed mobile connectivity to unmodified devices through SoftBank's core network while also integrating edge computing capabilities via High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS).

Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, the CEO and founder of Sceye, stated, “The terms 'revolutionary' and 'historic' do not do justice to our ST1 flight. This mission has shown that our technology, onboard systems, payload, and operational infrastructure are fully ready for connectivity services. The stratosphere will pave the way for an era of continuous connectivity, including the anticipated arrival of 6G technology.” He emphasized the importance of the stratospheric infrastructure in transforming global communication, highlighting its potential benefits for humanity.

The mission marked Sceye’s entrance into the Asian market and is a significant step toward the commercial deployment of HAPS as stratospheric infrastructure. The ST1 flight tested SceyeCELL, a novel cellular tower designed to deliver extensive mobile coverage directly to standard devices from the stratosphere. Once fully implemented, Sceye's HAPS is projected to cover an area equivalent to what is currently served by approximately 500 terrestrial cell towers.

The stratosphere not only provides an ideal vantage point for connectivity but also allows operations without the high costs and challenges associated with traditional space missions. Sceye's platforms maintain altitude and operational zones in the stratosphere consistently, functioning like geostationary satellites but at a much closer range—1,800 times nearer to the Earth—while incurring far lower costs.

The successful ST1 mission encompassed several remarkable achievements:

• - Journeyed nearly 30,000 kilometers from New Mexico to Japan and back within a month.
• - Operated safely within Japanese airspace for over seven days.
• - Maintained continuous operations in its target zone, approximately 5 kilometers off Japan's coastline.
• - Conducted missions at altitudes between 16.5 and 17 kilometers, ensuring telecommunications support, drone communications, and emergency services.
• - Demonstrated high-speed mobile connectivity from the stratosphere, allowing SMS, voice calls, internet access, and video streaming.
• - Featured emergency call testing through an innovative alert messaging system designed for large-scale disaster response.
• - Showcased effective communication capabilities comparable to terrestrial networks with reduced radio interference.
• - Achieved a round-trip data processing time of just 68 milliseconds, highlighting a 40% latency reduction compared to traditional cloud processing.

Such results reveal the potential of Sceye’s platform to enhance connectivity significantly while proving its technological prowess in the stratosphere.

Sceye, founded in 2014, is on a mission to advance stratospheric technology to connect people and safeguard the planet. The company leads the industry of High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) with a focus on universal connectivity, climate monitoring, and disaster prevention.