High-altitude Platform - Applications

Applications

For high-speed wireless communications

One of latest uses of HAPs has been for wireless communications. Research on HAPs is being actively carried largely in Europe, where scientists are considering them as a platform to deliver high speed connectivity to users, over areas of up to 400 km. It has gained significant interest because HAPs will be able to deliver bandwidth and capacity similar to a broadband wireless access network (such as WiMAX) while providing a coverage area similar to that of a satellite.

For surveillance and intelligence gathering

One of the best examples of a high-altitude platform used for surveillance and security is RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV used by the US Air Force. It has a service ceiling of 20 km and can stay in the air for continuous 36 hours. It carries a highly sophisticated sensor system including radar, optical, and infrared imagers. It is powered by a turbofan engine and is able to deliver digital sensor data in realtime to a ground station.

For real-time monitoring of a region

Another future use which is currently being investigated is monitoring of a particular area or region for activities such as flood detection, seismic monitoring, remote sensing and disaster management.

For weather/environmental monitoring and studying

Perhaps the most common use of high-altitude platforms is for environment/weather monitoring. Numerous experiments are conducted through high-altitude balloons mounted with scientific equipment, which is used to measure environmental changes or to keep track of weather. Recently, NASA in partnership with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has started using Global Hawk UAV to study Earth's Atmosphere.

As a space port

Due to the height more than 90% of atmospheric matter is below the HAP. This reduces atmospheric drag for starting rockets. As a rough estimate, a rocket that reaches an altitude of 20 km when launched from the ground will reach 100 km if launched at an altitude of 20 km from a balloon. It also allows the usage of (long) mass drivers for launching goods or humans into orbits.