[News Today] KOREA DEVELOPS STRATOSPHERIC DRONE

[LEAD]
A drone designed to ascend to the stratosphere, higher than where commercial airliners fly up to, is being developed. This drone will maintain flight for up to a month, serving satellite-like functions. Known as the 'stratospheric drone', it will soon enter real-flight testing. Here's more.

[REPORT]
A test drone powered by solar cells.

After takeoff it reaches the altitude of 18km above ground, higher than passenger jets.

The drone's flight lasting 53 consecutive hours in the skies over Goheung, Jeollanam-do Province, was a success.

The aircraft is almost never affected by weather conditions because it flies in the stratosphere.

Plus, its power supply through solar energy generation is quite stable.

The successful flight of this test drone is now paving the way for the commercialization of the so-called "stratospheric drones."

The Korea AeroSpace Administration plans to develop a new aircraft with a wingspan of 30m and payload capacity of 20kg.
Its test flight that will last as long as 30 straight days is slated for as early as November.

If the flight is successful, the new aircraft will be utilized for diverse purposes such as telecommunication relay, surveillance and meteorological observation at a much lower cost compared to artificial satellites.

If everything goes as planned, stratospheric drones that can be mass produced will be developed from 2026.

Lee Kwang-byeong / Korea AeroSpace Administration
More than 70% of air taxis are expected to operate in the service sector. That requires unreasonably high telecom network and satellite costs. Stratospheric UAVs could become a viable solution.

Many global corporations like Airbus and Facebook as well as countries including China and the U.K. are also developing their own stratospheric drones.

KASA plans to push for the localization of core components such as domestic solar cells and batteries, which have proven to be competitive globally, to promote the growth of the drone sector.