A prototype of Californian-company UAVOS’ high altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS), the ApusDuo, has successfully completed its first flight.
As seen in this video, the 10m (33ft) wide HAPS, is covered by solar cells and is extremely light, giving its flight a kite-like appearance.
The production version of the ApusDuo will be 28m (92ft) wide and is designed to stay in the stratosphere for up to a year.
The flight testing has proved control algorithms, including take-off and landing, full-scale verification of the HAPS aerodynamics and its flight characteristics.
