Moriarty, New Mexico – September 15, 2026 -- Sceye's stratospheric platform ST1 has completed a nearly 30,000-kilometer round trip between New Mexico and Japan, re-entering continental U.S. airspace on September 4, 2026, and reaching the company's Moriarty headquarters the following day for final testing and controlled descent.
ST1 logged over seven days in Japanese controlled airspace during a month-long mission
The high-altitude platform station (HAPS), developed with SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434), marked Sceye's first flight into Asia and a key step toward commercial HAPS deployment. ST1 maintained a station-keeping radius of just 5 kilometers off the Japanese coast while operating continuously at 16.5 to 17 kilometers altitude.
Onboard server cut data latency by more than 40% versus cloud processing
Sceye and SoftBank installed a mobile core network and web server directly on the HAPS, processing two-way data transfers with an average response time of 68 milliseconds. The companies say it is the first global test of onboard mobile network processing on a HAPS, eliminating the need to route data through ground-based cloud infrastructure.
ST1 carried SceyeCELL, designed to replace roughly 500 ground towers per unit
The payload demonstrated mobile broadband connectivity direct to standard smartphones, including text messaging, voice calls, internet access and video streaming. Testing also covered emergency calls, a large-scale disaster alert system, and drone communications, with performance comparable to terrestrial networks and reduced radio interference with ground base stations.
CEO calls the mission proof that stratospheric infrastructure is commercially ready
"This mission proved not only that our technology, device systems, payload and operational infrastructure are ready to deliver connectivity services, but that the stratosphere itself can host the next layer of off-world infrastructure,