HAPS (high altitude pseudo satellite) UAS for Atmospheric Research – Demonstration and Outlook

More than a half dozen solar-powered long-endurance UAS (HAPS) are either currently on the market or under development. Mostly intended for communications and surveillance, these UAS can stay aloft at high altitude (> 18 km) for days to weeks or even months at a time. With these capabilities, HAPS UAS have the potential to serve as useful platforms for Earth system observations and climate/atmospheric research. The NOAA UAS Program Office recognizes the potential for HAPS-based observations and is planning a 2-year pilot project with ESRL CSD to demonstrate HAPS capabilities for atmospheric research. In this talk the prospective project scope and progress will be presented. Furthermore, we will discuss a few scientific mission concepts that are uniquely suitable for a HAPS platform.