AALTO Timeline

Events

• 2026-03-02 - Partnership - AALTO and Telkomsel sign Indonesia Stratospace memorandum - The memorandum was signed at Mobile World Congress Barcelona. The parties described initial Zephyr operations from 2027 as a target, not a completed deployment. The work builds on AALTO's existing cooperation with Indonesian infrastructure operator Mitratel. - source: aaltohaps.com
• 2025-05-21 - Partnership - AALTO Zephyr Achieves World-Record 67-Day Flight Powered by Amprius Ultra-High-Energy Batteries - Amprius has been a key supplier of high-performance batteries to AALTO for several years, including for a 2022 Zephyr flight that lasted 64 days. The new 67-day flight builds on that milestone, further proving the reliability of Amprius’ technology and the… - source: ir.amprius.com
• 2025-04-28 - Demonstration - AALTO completes 67-day continuous Zephyr stratospheric flight - The flight launched from AALTOPORT Kenya on 20 February 2025 and concluded on 28 April. Zephyr crossed the Intertropical Convergence Zone twice and navigated seven flight-information regions. The aircraft conducted connectivity-payload testing before… - source: aaltohaps.com
• 2025-03-03 - Capability - AALTO connects a ground 4G device through Zephyr in Kenya - The campaign was conducted for Space Compass with NTT DOCOMO as partner. Testing included a telephone call routed from Kenya through Zephyr to the United Kingdom. AALTO measured throughput, signal quality and other payload-performance characteristics. - source: aaltohaps.com
• 2025-02-03 - Deployment - AALTO completes first operational Zephyr flight from Kenya base - The aircraft flew above 60,000 feet for more than 13 days. Zephyr carried a Farnborough-developed direct-to-device 4G/5G connectivity payload. The flight followed permissions secured with the Kenya Space Agency and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. - source: aaltohaps.com
• 2024-10-30 - Executive Hire - AALTO appoints Hughes Boulnois chief executive - Boulnois had most recently served as Airbus vice president for Zephyr. He previously led customer programme management for A400M and served as general manager for SpaceDataHighway. AALTO paired the appointment with a strategy focused on government demand… - source: aaltohaps.com
• 2024-07-25 - Regulatory - AALTO secures UK CAA Design Organisation Approval - The approval was the first UK Design Organisation Approval issued to a HAPS company. The CAA reviewed AALTO's procedures, facilities and design-team competence. AALTO continued type-certification work for Zephyr; the approval was not itself aircraft type… - source: aaltohaps.com
• 2024-06-03 - Market Signal - AALTO announces conditional investment of up to $100 million - The consortium also included Mizuho Bank and the Development Bank of Japan. The investment was intended to support Zephyr industrialisation and HAPS commercialisation in Japan and Asia. Airbus Defence and Space was to remain AALTO's majority shareholder; the… - source: aaltohaps.com