UK research agency backs drone-based internet service experiment with lasers, microwaves, and gravity waves used for wireless power — Britain invests $94 million into Starlink alternative

While China and Russia rush to build a SpaceX competitor, the UK is taking another route by developing an alternative to satellite internet that relies mostly on aircraft. Its Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is funding 18 projects aimed at building aircraft that will deliver wireless communications to areas in the UK and the rest of the world that are not served by terrestrial networks. According to The Register, the program, called Enduring Atmospheric Platforms, aims to have a unit with a 300-watt communications payload aloft and holding station for a week.

These units are called high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS), with ARIA allocating $94 million over three and a half years for these projects. There are three technical areas in focus at the moment: TA1, which aims to develop the underlying technologies; TA2, which looks into the integration and testing of the developed systems; and TA3, which will concentrate on actual deployment.

Two startups have proposed multiple drone systems that will cover the entire United Kingdom — Carousel, by Menapia, wants to build a constellation that can hover at altitudes of up to 12 miles, while Enduring Drone Networks, by VFP Aerospace, proposes a relay of units that automatically fly back to their ground station for charging and servicing, with a cost of about $67,000 per drone.

Two other proposals suggest wireless power — one is Scalable Laser Ltd, which is working on a laser-based technology that pairs high-power laser diodes on the ground with advanced photovoltaic receivers in the air. On the other hand, Space Solar Engineering Ltd wants to use radio frequencies, like microwave, to deliver power to airborne units. There’s also a more novel approach from the University of Bath, which plans to use atmospheric gravity waves — using the upward movement of air caused by weather fronts and geographical features and the subsequent pull of gravity that brings it back down — to extend the range and endurance of HAPS aircraft.

"This research expands the UK's leadership in high-altitude platforms to become the place where this industry is designed, built, and scaled," says ARIA program director Rico Chandra. "Getting there means backing bold ideas, from fixed-wing solar aircraft to designs nobody predicted, including aircraft that fly on spinning wings instead of propellers."

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