Early warning system in the stratosphere
Strategic collaborations over 60,000 feet open up new opportunities for traffic and climate management, earth observation and imaging, methane, storm and wildfire detection and more.
Sceye, a leading U.S. aerospace company specializing in high-altitude platform systems (High-Altitude Platform Station or HAPS), announced a cooperative research and development agreement with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and a Space Act agreement with NASA. The goal of these agreements is to improve climate and environmental imaging, monitoring and data collection from the stratosphere.
This partnership builds on Sceye's successful 2024 flight program, which concluded with a milestone launch on October 24, 2024, demonstrating the platform's readiness for commercialization and long-duration missions in 2025.
This collaboration makes Sceye's HAPS technology a key partner in precision Earth observation and payload transportation for multiple missions. Using advanced hyperspectral imaging, Sceye will help NASA and the USGS detect methane "super emitters", monitor wildfires, storms, earthquakes and other extreme weather events. The partnership will help track key environmental data and metrics in real time and enable Sceye to help NASA and the USGS expand the scope of climate data collection and strengthen predictive models.
With climate change accelerating and methane emissions at record levels, Sceye's HAPS technology provides a solution to capture emissions down to the pixel. Sceye is also working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New Mexico Environmental Department on a five-year program to track methane emissions across the state. Sceye's final flight this year demonstrates the platform's operational readiness by capturing important data with the infrared cameras on board.
Sceye's HAPS are powered by solar energy, which is captured during the day and stored in batteries to operate overnight. This enables continuous flight above 60,000 feet, where few technologies can operate effectively.
"HAPS are critical to science because they can outlast events, continuously capture high-resolution data in real time and provide a more accurate understanding of what happens before, during and after an event," said Jonathan Stock, director of the USGS National Innovation Center.
The final launch of the 2024 Sceye flight program marked the end of a successful year of flight. The aircraft was comprehensively characterized and important milestones such as controlled relocation, full daytime flight and the ability to remain in an operational area for an extended period of time were achieved.
With a focus on commercialization and endurance in 2025, Sceye will move to test the platform's ability to sustain long "seasonal flights". These missions will enable continuous monitoring during critical periods such as wildfire season and support rapid response efforts with near real-time data on evolving threats.
Following a successful Series C round that raised the company's upfront valuation to $525 million, Sceye is moving forward with its mission to develop world-changing solutions.
