| Revision as of 04:46, 17 June 2024 editLeidichj (talk | contribs)81 edits →History← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 20:23, 18 December 2024 edit undoVortexjourney754 (talk | contribs)163 editsmNo edit summaryTag: Visual edit | ||
| (14 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Short description|American aerospace company}} | |||
| {{AfC submission|t||ts=20230326044328|u=Leidichj|ns=118|demo=}} | |||
| {{Infobox company | |||
| ] | |||
| | name = Urban Sky | |||
| | logo = | |||
| | logo_caption = | |||
| | logo_upright = <!-- default: 1 --> | |||
| | logo_alt = | |||
| | image = StratoBalloon.jpg | |||
| | image_caption = Stratospheric microballoon | |||
| | type = | |||
| | industry = ] | |||
| | predecessor = <!-- or: predecessors = --> | |||
| | founded = <!-- if known: {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} in ], country --> | |||
| | founder = <!-- or: founders = --> | |||
| | defunct = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | |||
| | fate = | |||
| | successor = <!-- or: successors = --> | |||
| | hq_location_city = ] | |||
| | hq_location_country = United States | |||
| | area_served = <!-- or: areas_served = --> | |||
| | key_people = | |||
| | products = | |||
| | owner = <!-- or: owners = --> | |||
| | num_employees = | |||
| | num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) --> | |||
| | parent = | |||
| | website = | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Urban Sky''' is an American ] company headquartered in ].<ref name="PopSci" >{{citation | url = https://www.popsci.com/environment/wildfire-tracking-balloons/ | title = Popular Science - Alien-looking balloons might be the next weapon in the fight against wildfires | date = November 2022 }}</ref> Urban Sky |
'''Urban Sky''' is an American ] company headquartered in ].<ref name="PopSci" >{{citation | url = https://www.popsci.com/environment/wildfire-tracking-balloons/ | title = Popular Science - Alien-looking balloons might be the next weapon in the fight against wildfires | date = November 2022 }}</ref> Urban Sky designs, manufactures and operates small, altitude-stable stratospheric balloons that are primarily used for ] and ] applications.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Foust |first1=Jeff |title=Startup raises funding to provide high-resolution imagery from balloons |url=https://spacenews.com/startup-raises-funding-to-provide-high-resolution-imagery-from-balloons/ |access-date=March 25, 2023 |date=August 19, 2021}}</ref> The balloon systems are the first ever reusable stratospheric balloons and have several unique features including an ability to navigate in the stratosphere, and a novel size (more than 100 times smaller than typical ]).<ref name="new_atlas" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Morris |first=Alvin, L. |title=Scientific Ballooning Handbook |date=May 1, 1975 |publisher=National Center For Atmospheric Research |year=1975}}</ref> About one third of all high altitude balloons flown in 2023 were built or operated by Urban Sky (excluding Latex and weather balloons).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> | ||
| == History == | == History == | ||
| Urban Sky was founded in 2019 with the goal of increasing access to the stratosphere, and reducing the cost of remote sensing through balloon miniaturization and new approaches to balloon control. In 2020 Urban Sky began routine stratospheric operations and became the first company ever to reuse a stratospheric balloon.<ref name="new_atlas">{{cite news |last1=Coxworth |first1=Ben |title=Reusable "Microballoons" could give satellites a run for their money |url=https://newatlas.com/science/microballoons-reusable-stratospheric-balloons/ |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=New Atlas |date=December 30, 2021}}</ref> |
Urban Sky was founded in 2019 with the goal of increasing access to the stratosphere, and reducing the cost of remote sensing through balloon miniaturization and new approaches to balloon control. In 2020 Urban Sky began routine stratospheric operations and became the first company ever to reuse a stratospheric balloon.<ref name="new_atlas">{{cite news |last1=Coxworth |first1=Ben |title=Reusable "Microballoons" could give satellites a run for their money |url=https://newatlas.com/science/microballoons-reusable-stratospheric-balloons/ |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=New Atlas |date=December 30, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news |last1=Foust |first1=Jeff |title=Startup raises funding to provide high-resolution imagery from balloons |url=https://spacenews.com/startup-raises-funding-to-provide-high-resolution-imagery-from-balloons/ |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=Space News |date=August 19, 2023}}</ref> | ||
| In 2022 Urban Sky started routine commercial operations after more than 50 test flights.<ref name="TheVerge">{{citation | url = https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/23/23177434/urban-sky-stratosphere-microballoons-earth-imaging-remote-sensing | title = The Verge - Urban Sky's Earth-imaging stratospheric 'microballoons' are ready for a close-up| date = 23 June 2022}}</ref> The initial product Urban Sky released was an aerial imagery product at a resolution of 10-cm.<ref name="PressRelease">{{citation | url = https://2049c8a0-6107-4bb5-a260-0aacf55a5dad.usrfiles.com/ugd/2049c8_0733770ef738438993e6b9df4271472a.pdf | title = Urban Sky Unveils First 10 cm Imagery from its Zero-emission Stratospheric Microballoon}}</ref><ref name="petapixel">{{cite news |last1=Schneider |first1=Jason |title=Urban Sky's 'Microballoons' Take High-Res Photos from the Stratosphere |url=https://petapixel.com/2022/06/27/urban-skys-microballoons-take-high-res-photos-from-the-stratosphere/ |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=PetaPixel |date=June 27, 2022}}</ref> Alongside its ] imager Urban Sky developed a Long Wave ] imaging system funded by ] for detecting and monitoring wildfires with scanning rates similar to that of ] with higher resolution.<ref name="PopSci" /> That same year Urban Sky was awarded 3 Air Force Grants to develop new sensor systems including a ] thermal sensor developed in partnership with the ].<ref name="SBIR_STTR">{{cite web |title=SBIR STTR |url=https://www.sbir.gov/sbirsearch/award/all?firm=Urban%20Sky&topic= |publisher=Small Business Innovative Research |access-date=October 1, 2023}}</ref> In 2022 Urban Sky was awarded a ] grant to develop more precise placement technology for the balloon systems.<ref name="SBIR_NSF">{{cite web |title=SBIR Phase I:Developing the Microballoon: Precisely-Placeable Stratospheric Balloon |url=https://www.sbir.gov/node/2288743 |website=SBIR STTR |publisher=Small Business Innovative Research |access-date=October 1, 2023}}</ref> | |||
| In 2023 Urban Sky was the winner of the National Security Innovation Network challenge for their remote sensing technologies. <ref name="nsin_win">{{cite web |title=Urban Sky Wins 1st MDTF Extended Range Sensor Challenge |url=https://www.nsin.mil/news/2023-09-17-1mdtfchallenge-winners/ |website=NSIN |date=17 September 2023 |access-date=September 18, 2023}}</ref> and that same year started flying communications related missions with a first stratospheric communications flight partnered with ]. Two balloons were flown in the demonstration maintaining an altitude of 57,000 feet simultaneously in the 5 hour flight establishing a line-of-site network spanning at least 14,412 square miles.<ref>{{cite news |title=goTenna and Urban Sky achieve unprecedented network coverage spanning over 14,000 square miles |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gotenna-and-urban-sky-achieve-unprecedented-network-coverage-spanning-over-14-000-square-miles-301880459.html |access-date=September 18, 2023 |date=July 19, 2023}}</ref> | |||
| In October of 2023 the company closed a $9.75M series A funding round to scale imaging operations across the western United States.<ref name="SN2023" /> In 2024 the company announced multiple wildfire campaigns and was announced as one of two companies selected to participate in the NASA firesense campaign and announced a new Long Wave Infrared sensor for early detection and live mapping of wildfires.<ref name="Spinoff">{{cite news |title=Ballooning Business for Shrinking Cameras |url=https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Ballooning_Business_for_Shrinking_Cameras |access-date=June 16, 2024 |agency=NASA |publisher=NASA Spinoff |date=January 29, 2024}}</ref><ref name="NASA_ESTO">{{cite news |title=Initial Project Selections for FIRET-23 |url=https://esto.nasa.gov/firetselections-2023/ |access-date=June 16, 2024 |agency=NASA |publisher=NASA ESTO |date=June 5, 2024}}</ref> | |||
| As of 2023 the company had raised at least $13.8M in funding rounds that were shared publicly.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="SN2023" /> | |||
| ==Microballoon technology== | ==Microballoon technology== | ||
| Urban Sky Remote Sensing balloons operate in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20km (about 65,000 feet), and are roughly the size of a car at launch with a payload attached underneath. |
Urban Sky Remote Sensing balloons operate in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20km (about 65,000 feet), and are roughly the size of a car at launch with a payload attached underneath.<ref name="bbc_stratoplane">{{cite news |last1=Piesing |first1=Mark |title=Stratoplanes: The aircraft that will fly at the edge of space |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230613-the-planes-that-will-fly-at-the-edge-of-space |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=BBC |date=June 14, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hernandez |first1=Esteban |title=Denver-based tech balloon company expands |url=https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/06/27/denver-urban-sky-balloon-startup-expands |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=Axios |date=June 27, 2022}}</ref> The balloons grow in volume as they ascend and are roughly 11 times larger in the stratosphere than when they are near the ground.<ref name="design_news">{{cite news |last1=Carney |first1=Dan |title=Stratospheric Balloons Ascend to Prominence |url=https://www.designnews.com/industry/stratospheric-balloons-ascend-prominence |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=Design News |date=February 4, 2023}}</ref> The balloons are propelled by the wind, allowing them to drift over predetermined targets from mobile launch locations depending on season.<ref name="reuters_china">{{cite news |last1=Holland, Martina, Brunnstrom |first1=Steve, Mechail, David |title=China's balloon over the U.S. seen as bold but clumsy espionage tactic |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/chinas-balloon-over-us-seen-bold-clumsy-espionage-tactic-2023-02-04/ |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=Reuters |date=February 4, 2023}}</ref> Urban Sky balloons are the world's first reusable stratospheric balloons.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Eric |title=Why would the Chinese government be flying a large stratospheric balloon? |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/02/why-would-the-chinese-government-be-flying-a-large-stratospheric-balloon/ |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=ars technica |date=February 3, 2023}}</ref> The small balloons fly in the same regulatory category as most weather balloons, limiting payload mass to 2.7 Kg per package.<ref name="SN2023" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Foust |first1=Jeff |title=Startup raises funding to provide high-resolution imagery from balloons |url=https://spacenews.com/startup-raises-funding-to-provide-high-resolution-imagery-from-balloons/ |access-date=September 18, 2023 |publisher=Space News |date=August 19, 2023}}</ref> | ||
| In 2023 they were operating more than one stratospheric flight per week in the western United States.<ref name="SN2023">{{cite news |last1=Foust |first1=Jeff |title=Urban Sky raises $9.75 million for stratospheric imaging platform |url=https://spacenews.com/urban-sky-rases-9-75-million-for-stratospheric-imaging-platform/ |access-date=October 24, 2023 |publisher=Space News |date=October 16, 2023}}</ref> Based on the 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Balloon Technical Committee year end report and the StratoCat balloon flight database (which showed collectively 98 high altitude balloon flights flown by other, non-Urban Sky, operators in 2023) the Microballoon type high altitude balloon was the third most prevalent type of high altitude balloon after Latex and weather balloons.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-01 |title=Preparing for passenger balloon flights to the stratosphere and scientific flights to Venus |url=https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/year-in-review/preparing-for-passenger-balloon-flights-to-the-stratosphere-and-scientific-flights-to-venus/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Aerospace America |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Stratospheric balloons launched in 2023 |url=https://stratocat.com.ar/globos/2023e.htm |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=stratocat.com.ar}}</ref> | |||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
| Line 25: | Line 61: | ||
| * {{Official website|http://www.urbansky.com/}} | * {{Official website|http://www.urbansky.com/}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| {{Drafts moved from mainspace|date=March 2023}} | |||
Latest revision as of 20:23, 18 December 2024
American aerospace company Stratospheric microballoon | |
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado, United States |
| Website | urbansky.com |
Urban Sky is an American aerospace company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Urban Sky designs, manufactures and operates small, altitude-stable stratospheric balloons that are primarily used for Earth Observation and remote sensing applications. The balloon systems are the first ever reusable stratospheric balloons and have several unique features including an ability to navigate in the stratosphere, and a novel size (more than 100 times smaller than typical Zero-pressure balloons). About one third of all high altitude balloons flown in 2023 were built or operated by Urban Sky (excluding Latex and weather balloons).
History
Urban Sky was founded in 2019 with the goal of increasing access to the stratosphere, and reducing the cost of remote sensing through balloon miniaturization and new approaches to balloon control. In 2020 Urban Sky began routine stratospheric operations and became the first company ever to reuse a stratospheric balloon.
In 2022 Urban Sky started routine commercial operations after more than 50 test flights. The initial product Urban Sky released was an aerial imagery product at a resolution of 10-cm. Alongside its visual spectrum imager Urban Sky developed a Long Wave Infrared imaging system funded by NASA for detecting and monitoring wildfires with scanning rates similar to that of satellites with higher resolution. That same year Urban Sky was awarded 3 Air Force Grants to develop new sensor systems including a real-time thermal sensor developed in partnership with the University of Colorado. In 2022 Urban Sky was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to develop more precise placement technology for the balloon systems.
In 2023 Urban Sky was the winner of the National Security Innovation Network challenge for their remote sensing technologies. and that same year started flying communications related missions with a first stratospheric communications flight partnered with goTenna. Two balloons were flown in the demonstration maintaining an altitude of 57,000 feet simultaneously in the 5 hour flight establishing a line-of-site network spanning at least 14,412 square miles.
In October of 2023 the company closed a $9.75M series A funding round to scale imaging operations across the western United States. In 2024 the company announced multiple wildfire campaigns and was announced as one of two companies selected to participate in the NASA firesense campaign and announced a new Long Wave Infrared sensor for early detection and live mapping of wildfires.
As of 2023 the company had raised at least $13.8M in funding rounds that were shared publicly.
Microballoon technology
Urban Sky Remote Sensing balloons operate in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 20km (about 65,000 feet), and are roughly the size of a car at launch with a payload attached underneath. The balloons grow in volume as they ascend and are roughly 11 times larger in the stratosphere than when they are near the ground. The balloons are propelled by the wind, allowing them to drift over predetermined targets from mobile launch locations depending on season. Urban Sky balloons are the world's first reusable stratospheric balloons. The small balloons fly in the same regulatory category as most weather balloons, limiting payload mass to 2.7 Kg per package.
In 2023 they were operating more than one stratospheric flight per week in the western United States. Based on the 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Balloon Technical Committee year end report and the StratoCat balloon flight database (which showed collectively 98 high altitude balloon flights flown by other, non-Urban Sky, operators in 2023) the Microballoon type high altitude balloon was the third most prevalent type of high altitude balloon after Latex and weather balloons.
See also
References
- ^ Popular Science - Alien-looking balloons might be the next weapon in the fight against wildfires, November 2022
- Foust, Jeff (August 19, 2021). "Startup raises funding to provide high-resolution imagery from balloons". Retrieved March 25, 2023.
- ^ Coxworth, Ben (December 30, 2021). "Reusable "Microballoons" could give satellites a run for their money". New Atlas. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- Morris, Alvin, L. (May 1, 1975). Scientific Ballooning Handbook. National Center For Atmospheric Research.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Preparing for passenger balloon flights to the stratosphere and scientific flights to Venus". Aerospace America. 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
- ^ "Stratospheric balloons launched in 2023". stratocat.com.ar. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (August 19, 2023). "Startup raises funding to provide high-resolution imagery from balloons". Space News. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- The Verge - Urban Sky's Earth-imaging stratospheric 'microballoons' are ready for a close-up, 23 June 2022
- Urban Sky Unveils First 10 cm Imagery from its Zero-emission Stratospheric Microballoon (PDF)
- Schneider, Jason (June 27, 2022). "Urban Sky's 'Microballoons' Take High-Res Photos from the Stratosphere". PetaPixel. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- "SBIR STTR". Small Business Innovative Research. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- "SBIR Phase I:Developing the Microballoon: Precisely-Placeable Stratospheric Balloon". SBIR STTR. Small Business Innovative Research. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- "Urban Sky Wins 1st MDTF Extended Range Sensor Challenge". NSIN. 17 September 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- "goTenna and Urban Sky achieve unprecedented network coverage spanning over 14,000 square miles". July 19, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ Foust, Jeff (October 16, 2023). "Urban Sky raises $9.75 million for stratospheric imaging platform". Space News. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- "Ballooning Business for Shrinking Cameras". NASA Spinoff. NASA. January 29, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
- "Initial Project Selections for FIRET-23". NASA ESTO. NASA. June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
- Piesing, Mark (June 14, 2023). "Stratoplanes: The aircraft that will fly at the edge of space". BBC. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- Hernandez, Esteban (June 27, 2022). "Denver-based tech balloon company expands". Axios. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- Carney, Dan (February 4, 2023). "Stratospheric Balloons Ascend to Prominence". Design News. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- Holland, Martina, Brunnstrom, Steve, Mechail, David (February 4, 2023). "China's balloon over the U.S. seen as bold but clumsy espionage tactic". Reuters. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Berger, Eric (February 3, 2023). "Why would the Chinese government be flying a large stratospheric balloon?". ars technica. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- Foust, Jeff (August 19, 2023). "Startup raises funding to provide high-resolution imagery from balloons". Space News. Retrieved September 18, 2023.