A company based in Abu Dhabi is preparing to operate a platform thousands of metres above the Earth's surface, designed to capture real-time data and provide high-speed communications from the lower part of the stratosphere.
Called a High-Altitude Platform Station (HAPS), this technology can reach altitudes of 18km, in a zone known as near-space where no commercial aircraft or satellites operate. The project makes Mira Aerospace one of the first companies in the region to stake a claim in this strategic layer of the sky.
Operating just beneath the internationally recognised boundary of space, Mira’s solar-powered HAPS aircraft can maintain its position for months, unaffected by weather disturbances below.
Khaled Al Marzooqi, chief executive of Mira Aerospace, which is a subsidiary of space-tech company Space42, told The National on Tuesday that the technology “does not replace drones or satellites” but it closes gaps.
What sets Mira Aerospace apart?
“Drones can fly for a limited time and have to land in maximum five days, and satellites have fixed kinds of orbits, where you have to wait for them to reach the exact spot in order to get an image or service,” he said. “HAPS have direct connectivity and remain in a certain place for a period of time.”
Mr Al Marzooqi said the company's high-altitude station can stay airborne for up to several months and can support communication and three different Earth-observation payloads, such as optical, thermal and synthetic-aperture radar. This means the HAPS would be able to capture detailed geographic and environmental information for sectors such as environment, urban planning, emergency response and transport. The sensors would also be beneficial for autonomous driving, helping to provide real-time, high-resolution mapping and continuous connectivity and enhancing navigation and data accuracy.
It is not clear what kind of engine Mira's technology uses, but most HAPS platforms have lightweight electric engines powered by solar-charged batteries. It offers efficiency, low emissions and compatibility with the solar-powered system that enable the platform to stay airborne for extended periods.
Mr Al Marzooqi said the company is already developing an Earth-observation and telecommunication payload for its first operational flight, which it hopes to fully integrate from Abu Dhabi in the first quarter of 2025. "We've already done many [test] flights in Europe, Africa, Asia, and even in UAE," he said. "We flew with two different types of payloads."
Work still to be done
But before Mira Aerospace can take to the skies for commercial operations, the company is working to overcome regulatory challenges.
Mr Al Marzooqi said his company was working closely with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to determine whether the technology falls under the category of a "drone or normal airplane that is remotely controlled", as the wings of the HAPS span 30 metres. "The challenges are that this layer [of the sky] has not been regulated yet, because nobody has operated in it before," he said. "So, we still need to go to the government entities, of course, whether here in the UAE or anywhere else, to get the permits to fly."
Stratospheric operations generally fall under the jurisdiction of national aviation authorities, such as the UAE's GCAA, but can also involve international bodies depending on the altitude, range and type of operations.
Dr John Sheldon, partner at AzurX - a UAE-based private advisory and investment firm specialising in the space sector, told The National that Mira Aerospace developing Earth observation and communications payload for their HAPS was "an important step for the company and the UAE".
It's a "logical progression in the company’s strategy to be the region’s leading near-space operator and technology developer," he said. "The extremely high-altitude that Mira Aerospace operates in is an increasingly vital part of communications and Earth observation networks that encompass the land and sea, air, space and near-space. "Companies like Mira Aerospace provide users of communications and Earth observation services with a near space capability as part of layered networks across vast geographies."
