High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite platforms as support to air traffic management

The High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellites (HAPS) with significantly long endurance are progressively occupying the attention of the industry and scientific community. The recent technological advancements in the field of design and construction of aerodynamic and aerostatic high-altitude platforms, combined with increasingly efficient solar-powered propulsion systems, undoubtedly stand out as the main enablers of their further exploitation. In that respect, this research paper provides a review of HAPS’ application potential as support to the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. While the paper addresses both, the benefits and limitations of HAPS’ application within the domain of the ATM system, the main research outcomes argue HAPS’ applicability by outlining and reasoning the inherent downsides in the domain of signal propagation, coverage and interferences.