Market Trends of High Altitude Pseudo Satellites Industry
Airships Segment to Hold Largest Market Share in 2023
The airship segment is expected to contribute the largest market share in 2023. HAPS are effective tools for communication and surveillance as they operate from the Stratosphere, which is 20 km above the Earth's surface. HAPS uses the flexibility of airships with satellite endurance in missions. There are challenges to relying on unmanned balloons to provide such services, for instance, weather and limited onboard energy sources. Airships are preferred more over other platforms due to their capability to lift and power more payload. Airships can cover large areas quickly and effectively, including hard-to-reach locations. Other benefits of airships are low cost, flexibility, and ease of deployment. Airships are customized to carry specialized payloads such as communication equipment, sensors, and cameras. For instance, in August 2021, Sceye (US) completed a third test of the airship platform flight successfully in three months. The primary objectives of the airship test were to check beyond-line-of-sight command, attitude and automated pressure control, and reliable launch and ascent. Sceye airship can fly to 65,000 ft and is powered by solar energy.
Similarly, in March 2023, Thales received a USD 46 million contract for the EuroHAPS High-Altitude Platform Systems project. The project aims to design a stratospheric platform for a European consortium of eleven countries. Thales will provide the solar-powered airship Stratobus, which is a long-endurance, large-payload mission airship. The primary partners of EuroHAPS are CIRA (Italy), Elettronica (Italy), Leonardo (Italy), ONERA (France), CEA (France), INTA (Spain), ESG (Germany), and TAO(Germany).
Asia-Pacific Region to Lead the Market in the Forecast Period
The adoption of HAPS is significantly high in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region due to the absence of critical infrastructure to ensure telecommunication services in remote locations. HAPS platforms are instrumental in search and rescue (SAR) missions, disaster relief, environmental monitoring, and precision agriculture. Several governments in Asia-Pacific, such as India, permitted the pre-deployment testing of HAPS to critically analyze the feasibility of such systems in the countries. HAPS also efficiently delivers cost-effective broadband services and is viable as a suitable alternative infrastructure for the long-term provision of broadband access to fixed or mobile users. For instance, stratospheric balloons can stay afloat over their destined region for long periods of about 3-5 years and provide coverage over an area of around 500 km2. For instance, in March 2023, the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) launched India's first High Altitude Platform (HAP). High Altitude Platform includes a lot of applications, especially in communication like wireless access and emergency communication. The device can also help security agencies to keep a tight vigil at borders and prevent infiltrations and smuggling. The local administration can also use the device to check pollution and take stock of development activities in the area. The scientific agency informed that the full-fledged version of HAP will be ready in around three years.
Similarly, in January 2022, Sky Perfect JSAT, NTT, DOCOMO, and Airbus partnered to study and explore HAPS-based connectivity services as part of a space-based wireless connectivity ecosystem. NTT and SKY Perfect JSAT also partnered in the outer space ICT infrastructure project and developed a space-integrated computing network. Thus, the R&D efforts of the market players, coupled with favorable adoption trends in different Asian countries, are anticipated to drive the adoption of HAPS in the Asia-Pacific region in the forecast period.
