The wingspan of an Airbus 320 and weighs 150kg...

[OFSO]

The wingspan of an Airbus 320 and weighs 150kg...
On 24 June a BAE Systems Phasa-35 solar-powered high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) made a 24hr test flight out of Spaceport America, New Mexico, over the US Army White Sands Missile Range. With the callsign of AVRO352 (a callback to a somewhat famous legacy BAE company) it reached 66,000ft, in its first ever stratospheric flight before landing the following day.

The Phasa-35, developed in partnership with Prismatic, which BAE acquired in September 2019, is a solar-powered UAV with a wingspan of 25m (similar to an Airbus A320), a weight of only 150kg and designed to stay aloft for months at a time at altitudes of 65,000ft or more with a 15kg payload. First flying in 2020, this was the twin-propeller UAV's first outing to the stratosphere, and while the flight only lasted a day, the vehicle was ‘ready to fly again’ when it landed according to BAE – a notable achievement for such an experimental flight.

[Boac]

Thanks for the news, OFSO. Some more info https://www.aerosociety.com/news/exclus ... ic-flight/