ENSTA Alumni supports Stratolia

ENSTA Alumni is pleased to announce the award of a 5K€ grant to Stratolia as part of the Entrepreneuriat des Crocos project, led by Louis HART-DAVIS, ENSTA Paris 2022,5. Presentation.

Stratolia's aim is to deploy a Europe-wide Earth imaging service using a fleet of stratospheric balloons. This vector makes up for the shortcomings of satellites: the images they produce are of low frequency and resolution (several meters on the ground per pixel for the most part). From the stratosphere, the ground can beimaged at a resolution of 10cm, in a flexible way, at the customer's request. The best imaging constellations available today (Pléiades Néo from Airbus and the equivalent from Maxar) image the ground at 30cm resolution, and often with large minimum order sizes (100km^2 minimum for Airbus), making them unsuitable for a large number of applications.

" We are now developing a 3kgs gondola that will be carried on board balloons and will be capable of taking images at 10cm resolution on the ground in the visible and near infrared. It can be seen as a nanosatellite (a cubesat) that is held aloft by a diverted weather balloon rather than by its orbital speed.

One of the main challenges is to stabilize and control the gondola's aiming axis so as to take photos along an entire axis perpendicular to the balloon's axis of movement.

We produced prototypes with frugal means in 2023. They enabled us to obtain the first images at an estimated resolution of 10m. A second test campaign will take place in March and April 2024. It will include a whole range of sensors, including accelerometers, and will be aimed at characterizing the thermal environment and the vibration profile we have to cope with.

At the same time, we're continuing to talk to all potential Stratolia prospects. Government bodies (ONF, VNF) are showing an interest in the solution for environmental monitoring applications, but the most advanced discussions are taking place with roofing repair companies and insurers.

Targets 2023 / 2024 :

• Develop the nacelle prototype by iteratively improving image resolution;
• Sign a contract with the first customer;
• Secure the intellectual property generated around the gondola's stabilization elements;
• Prepare for a first fund-raising round at the end of 2024;
• Consolidate the project's founding team.