{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"139119","rtpr_id":"nPNAHN5cga-20260909","ticker":"9434","exchange":"TSE Tokyo","all_tickers":["9434"],"title":"Sceye's Stratospheric Platform Re-enters United States After Record-Breaking Roundtrip Stratospheric Flight Between U.S. and Japan","author":"PR Newswire","published_at":"2026-09-09T12:02:01.441Z","article_body":"Sceye's Stratospheric Platform Re-enters United States After Record-Breaking\nRoundtrip Stratospheric Flight Between U.S. and Japan\nPR Newswire\n\nMORIARTY, N.M., Sept. 9, 2026\n\nThe journey, which lasted 30 days and traversed nearly 30,000 km, included\noperating for a week in the stratosphere over Japan. While over Japan, Sceye\nand its partner SoftBank Corp. successfully verified Direct-to-Device\nconnectivity to unmodified devices, HAPS-based communications with drones, and\nedge computing from the stratosphere.\n\nMORIARTY, N.M., Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sceye, a U.S. aerospace and\nmaterial science company building High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) for\nstratospheric infrastructure, today announced the successful return of its\nService Test 1 (ST1) mission\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4769867-1&h=772953096&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsceye.com%2Fpress-releases%2Fsceye-and-softbank-complete-stratospheric-connectivity-demonstration-in-japan%2F&a=Service+Test+1+(ST1)+mission) to\nthe United States after a record-breaking trans-Pacific flight from New Mexico\nto Japan and back. ST1 launched on August 9, 2026, and arrived in Japan 13\ndays later. While operating in Japan, Sceye demonstrated mobile broadband\nconnectivity to unmodified devices through SoftBank Corp.'s core network and\nHAPS-based edge computing and communication with drones to support the\ndevelopment of a 3D communications network.\n\n\n\nDuring its journey, Sceye's ST1 traveled nearly 30,000 km and re-entered\ncontinental U.S. on September 4, 2026. ST1 reached airspace near Sceye's\nheadquarters in Moriarty, New Mexico on September 5, 2026, where Sceye\ncompleted additional vehicle testing and a planned termination and descent.\n\n\"Groundbreaking and historic only begin to describe our ST1 flight,\" says\nMikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, Founder and CEO of Sceye. \"This mission proved\nnot only that our technology, vehicle systems, payload, and operational\ninfrastructure are ready for connectivity services, but also that the\nstratosphere is where the future non-terrestrial infrastructure lies. The\nstratosphere is what will enable the always-on future – including the\npromised land of 6G. Together ground, stratosphere, and space – each\noperating at their optimal strengths, will change the course of humanity.\"\n\nConducted in partnership with SoftBank Corp\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4769867-1&h=1012371992&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.softbank.jp%2Fen%2F&a=SoftBank+Corp).\n(TOKYO: 9434, \"SoftBank\"), a leading operator of telecommunications and IT\nbusinesses in Japan and globally, ST1 marks Sceye's first flight to Asia and\na groundbreaking milestone toward the commercial deployment of HAPS as\nstratospheric infrastructure. ST1 carried SceyeCELL\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4769867-1&h=1534349334&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsceye.com%2Fpress-releases%2Fsceye-unveils-stratospheric-telecom-antenna-sceyecell%2F&a=SceyeCELL),\na first-of-its-kind \"cell tower in the sky\" designed to deliver wide-area\nmobile broadband directly to standard devices from the stratosphere. When\ndeployed at full scale, one Sceye HAPS is designed to cover the equivalent\narea of approximately 500 terrestrial towers.\n\nThe stratosphere offers the optimal vantage point: It is close enough to Earth\nfor high-capacity connectivity and observation, yet the altitude is high\nenough for wide-area reach. Importantly, the stratosphere offers space-like\nconditions without the cost of being in space and the disadvantages of being\nin orbit. Sceye's HAPS maintain altitude and their area of operation in the\nstratosphere through consecutive day and night cycles, operating like\ngeostationary satellites, only 1,800 times closer to Earth and at a fraction\nof the cost.\n\nSceye's ST1 mission successfully:\n* Traveled nearly 30,000 km from New Mexico to Japan and back to New Mexico\nover a month-long journey\n* Operated within Japanese-managed airspace for over 7 days\n* Remained continuously within its target location on the coast of Japan for\nan extended period, achieving a station-seeking radius as low as 5 km\n* Operated between 16.5 and 17 km altitude while completing\ntelecommunications, drone, and emergency communications\n* Demonstrated mobile broadband from the stratosphere, including text\nmessaging, voice calls, internet access, and video streaming\n* Tested emergency calls, using an emergency alert messaging system designed\nfor large-scale disasters, as well as communications with drones\n* Confirmed communications performance equivalent to that of terrestrial\nnetworks while reducing radio interference with ground-based base stations\n* Through a server installed on the HAPS, Sceye and SoftBank conducted data\nprocessing directly on the platform, demonstrating an average round-trip\nprocessing response time of 68 milliseconds, reducing communications latency\nby over 40% compared with internet-based cloud processing. This marks the\nworld's first successful test in which a mobile core network and a web server\nfor processing were installed on a HAPS, enabling response processing to be\nperformed entirely onboard the HAPS and the results to be relayed back to\nsmartphones.\nST1 is the first flight of Sceye's Service Test Program.\n\nAbout Sceye\n\nFounded in 2014, Sceye\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4769867-1&h=2983892612&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsceye.com%2F&a=Sceye) (pronounced\n\"sky\") is an aerospace company dedicated to advancing stratospheric\ninfrastructure to connect people and protect the planet. Sceye leads the\nHigh-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) industry, focusing on universal\nconnectivity, climate monitoring, natural resource management, and disaster\nprevention.\n\nContact: press@sceye.com\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nView original content to download\nmultimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/sceyes-stratospheric-platform-re-enters-united-states-after-record-breaking-roundtrip-stratospheric-flight-between-us-and-japan-302873066.html\n\nSOURCE Sceye\n\n\n\nPhoto: \nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1984256/Sceye-ST1-Launch-6.jpg?id=OA2937605\nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1984258/Sceye-ST1-Lauch-5.jpg?id=OA2937606\nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1984260/Sceye-ST1-Launch-4.jpg?id=OA2937607\nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1589442/sceye-logo-suitcase-logo-full-colour-rgb-1000px-72ppi-ID-a12cb870d06f-Logo.jpg?id=OA2937604\n\nCopyright (c) 2026 PR Newswire Association,LLC. All Rights Reserved.","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nPNAHN5cga-20260909","title":"Sceye's Stratospheric Platform Re-enters United States After Record-Breaking Roundtrip Stratospheric Flight Between U.S. and Japan","author":"PR Newswire","ticker":"9434","created":"2026-09-09T12:02:01.441Z","tickers":["9434"],"exchange":"TSE Tokyo","article_body":"Sceye's Stratospheric Platform Re-enters United States After Record-Breaking\nRoundtrip Stratospheric Flight Between U.S. and Japan\nPR Newswire\n\nMORIARTY, N.M., Sept. 9, 2026\n\nThe journey, which lasted 30 days and traversed nearly 30,000 km, included\noperating for a week in the stratosphere over Japan. While over Japan, Sceye\nand its partner SoftBank Corp. successfully verified Direct-to-Device\nconnectivity to unmodified devices, HAPS-based communications with drones, and\nedge computing from the stratosphere.\n\nMORIARTY, N.M., Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sceye, a U.S. aerospace and\nmaterial science company building High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) for\nstratospheric infrastructure, today announced the successful return of its\nService Test 1 (ST1) mission\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4769867-1&h=772953096&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsceye.com%2Fpress-releases%2Fsceye-and-softbank-complete-stratospheric-connectivity-demonstration-in-japan%2F&a=Service+Test+1+(ST1)+mission) to\nthe United States after a record-breaking trans-Pacific flight from New Mexico\nto Japan and back. ST1 launched on August 9, 2026, and arrived in Japan 13\ndays later. While operating in Japan, Sceye demonstrated mobile broadband\nconnectivity to unmodified devices through SoftBank Corp.'s core network and\nHAPS-based edge computing and communication with drones to support the\ndevelopment of a 3D communications network.\n\n\n\nDuring its journey, Sceye's ST1 traveled nearly 30,000 km and re-entered\ncontinental U.S. on September 4, 2026. ST1 reached airspace near Sceye's\nheadquarters in Moriarty, New Mexico on September 5, 2026, where Sceye\ncompleted additional vehicle testing and a planned termination and descent.\n\n\"Groundbreaking and historic only begin to describe our ST1 flight,\" says\nMikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, Founder and CEO of Sceye. \"This mission proved\nnot only that our technology, vehicle systems, payload, and operational\ninfrastructure are ready for connectivity services, but also that the\nstratosphere is where the future non-terrestrial infrastructure lies. The\nstratosphere is what will enable the always-on future – including the\npromised land of 6G. Together ground, stratosphere, and space – each\noperating at their optimal strengths, will change the course of humanity.\"\n\nConducted in partnership with SoftBank Corp\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4769867-1&h=1012371992&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.softbank.jp%2Fen%2F&a=SoftBank+Corp).\n(TOKYO: 9434, \"SoftBank\"), a leading operator of telecommunications and IT\nbusinesses in Japan and globally, ST1 marks Sceye's first flight to Asia and\na groundbreaking milestone toward the commercial deployment of HAPS as\nstratospheric infrastructure. ST1 carried SceyeCELL\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4769867-1&h=1534349334&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsceye.com%2Fpress-releases%2Fsceye-unveils-stratospheric-telecom-antenna-sceyecell%2F&a=SceyeCELL),\na first-of-its-kind \"cell tower in the sky\" designed to deliver wide-area\nmobile broadband directly to standard devices from the stratosphere. When\ndeployed at full scale, one Sceye HAPS is designed to cover the equivalent\narea of approximately 500 terrestrial towers.\n\nThe stratosphere offers the optimal vantage point: It is close enough to Earth\nfor high-capacity connectivity and observation, yet the altitude is high\nenough for wide-area reach. Importantly, the stratosphere offers space-like\nconditions without the cost of being in space and the disadvantages of being\nin orbit. Sceye's HAPS maintain altitude and their area of operation in the\nstratosphere through consecutive day and night cycles, operating like\ngeostationary satellites, only 1,800 times closer to Earth and at a fraction\nof the cost.\n\nSceye's ST1 mission successfully:\n* Traveled nearly 30,000 km from New Mexico to Japan and back to New Mexico\nover a month-long journey\n* Operated within Japanese-managed airspace for over 7 days\n* Remained continuously within its target location on the coast of Japan for\nan extended period, achieving a station-seeking radius as low as 5 km\n* Operated between 16.5 and 17 km altitude while completing\ntelecommunications, drone, and emergency communications\n* Demonstrated mobile broadband from the stratosphere, including text\nmessaging, voice calls, internet access, and video streaming\n* Tested emergency calls, using an emergency alert messaging system designed\nfor large-scale disasters, as well as communications with drones\n* Confirmed communications performance equivalent to that of terrestrial\nnetworks while reducing radio interference with ground-based base stations\n* Through a server installed on the HAPS, Sceye and SoftBank conducted data\nprocessing directly on the platform, demonstrating an average round-trip\nprocessing response time of 68 milliseconds, reducing communications latency\nby over 40% compared with internet-based cloud processing. This marks the\nworld's first successful test in which a mobile core network and a web server\nfor processing were installed on a HAPS, enabling response processing to be\nperformed entirely onboard the HAPS and the results to be relayed back to\nsmartphones.\nST1 is the first flight of Sceye's Service Test Program.\n\nAbout Sceye\n\nFounded in 2014, Sceye\n(https://edge.prnewswire.com/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=4769867-1&h=2983892612&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsceye.com%2F&a=Sceye) (pronounced\n\"sky\") is an aerospace company dedicated to advancing stratospheric\ninfrastructure to connect people and protect the planet. Sceye leads the\nHigh-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) industry, focusing on universal\nconnectivity, climate monitoring, natural resource management, and disaster\nprevention.\n\nContact: press@sceye.com\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nView original content to download\nmultimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/sceyes-stratospheric-platform-re-enters-united-states-after-record-breaking-roundtrip-stratospheric-flight-between-us-and-japan-302873066.html\n\nSOURCE Sceye\n\n\n\nPhoto: \nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1984256/Sceye-ST1-Launch-6.jpg?id=OA2937605\nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1984258/Sceye-ST1-Lauch-5.jpg?id=OA2937606\nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1984260/Sceye-ST1-Launch-4.jpg?id=OA2937607\nhttps://mmx.prnewswire.com/media/MS1589442/sceye-logo-suitcase-logo-full-colour-rgb-1000px-72ppi-ID-a12cb870d06f-Logo.jpg?id=OA2937604\n\nCopyright (c) 2026 PR Newswire Association,LLC. All Rights Reserved."},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-09-09T12:02:01.50098293Z","server_sent_at_ms":1788955321500},"received_at":"2026-09-09T12:02:01.555Z","source_url":null},"analysis":{"id":"127961","press_release_id":"139119","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Diversified Telecommunication Services","sector":"Communication Services"},"redFlags":["Pre-commercial demonstration only -- no commercial deployment timeline, customer contract, or revenue impact disclosed","Press release authored by private partner Sceye, not by the listed filer; claims are unaudited vendor statements"],"eventType":"operations_update","narrative":"Sceye's ST1 stratospheric platform has returned to the United States after a record 30-day, roughly 30,000 km roundtrip flight from New Mexico to Japan, re-entering continental U.S. airspace on September 4, 2026 after launching on August 9.\n\nWhile operating over Japan for more than a week, Sceye and SoftBank Corp. verified Direct-to-Device connectivity to unmodified devices over SoftBank's core network, HAPS-based communications with drones, and station-keeping as tight as a 5 km radius at 16.5-17 km altitude.\n\nThe mission also marked the world's first test with a mobile core network and web server installed on a HAPS, achieving an average onboard edge-processing round-trip time of 68 milliseconds and cutting latency by over 40% versus internet-based cloud processing.\n\nAt full scale, one Sceye HAPS is designed to cover an area equivalent to about 500 terrestrial towers -- a proof point for SoftBank's 6G and non-terrestrial network ambitions, though no commercial deployment timeline or financial impact was disclosed.","sentiment":"bullish","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"World-first onboard edge processing on a stratospheric platform advances SoftBank's Direct-to-Device and 6G non-terrestrial network roadmap."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"altitude_range_km":"16.5-17","distance_traveled_km":30000,"flight_duration_days":30,"days_operating_over_japan":7,"station_keeping_radius_km":5,"latency_reduction_vs_cloud":"over 40%","edge_processing_roundtrip_ms":68,"terrestrial_tower_equivalent_per_haps":500}},"quotedText":"This mission proved not only that our technology, vehicle systems, payload, and operational infrastructure are ready for connectivity services, but also that the stratosphere is where the future non-terrestrial infrastructure lies.","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen","role":"Founder and CEO of Sceye"}],"products":["ST1 (Service Test 1)","SceyeCELL","High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS)"],"companies":[{"name":"Sceye","relationship":"private U.S. aerospace company; mission operator and technology partner of the filer"},{"name":"SoftBank Corp","ticker":"9434","relationship":"filer; telecommunications partner whose core network carried the stratospheric Direct-to-Device demonstration"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"materialImpact":{"score":2,"reasoning":"A successful record-setting technology demonstration that directly validates SoftBank's HAPS-based Direct-to-Device, drone-communications, and onboard edge-computing capabilities. However, it is a pre-commercial milestone with no contract, revenue, or deployment timeline disclosed -- meaningful strategically, not financially material."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"9434"},"globalImportance":28,"audienceRelevance":32,"eventTypeSecondary":["partnership"],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"large-cap Japanese telecom (SoftBank Corp, TSE 9434)","eventGravity":"technology demonstration milestone; world-first onboard mobile core + web server on a HAPS","issuerAuthored":false,"financialImpact":"none disclosed","partnershipContext":"mission run with private partner Sceye over SoftBank's core network","retailFavoriteBoost":"moderate -- SoftBank brand recognition and 6G/consumer connectivity angle"}},"event_type":"operations_update","event_type_secondary":["partnership"],"sentiment":"bullish","material_impact_score":2,"narrative":"Sceye's ST1 stratospheric platform has returned to the United States after a record 30-day, roughly 30,000 km roundtrip flight from New Mexico to Japan, re-entering continental U.S. airspace on September 4, 2026 after launching on August 9.\n\nWhile operating over Japan for more than a week, Sceye and SoftBank Corp. verified Direct-to-Device connectivity to unmodified devices over SoftBank's core network, HAPS-based communications with drones, and station-keeping as tight as a 5 km radius at 16.5-17 km altitude.\n\nThe mission also marked the world's first test with a mobile core network and web server installed on a HAPS, achieving an average onboard edge-processing round-trip time of 68 milliseconds and cutting latency by over 40% versus internet-based cloud processing.\n\nAt full scale, one Sceye HAPS is designed to cover an area equivalent to about 500 terrestrial towers -- a proof point for SoftBank's 6G and non-terrestrial network ambitions, though no commercial deployment timeline or financial impact was disclosed.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"altitude_range_km":"16.5-17","distance_traveled_km":30000,"flight_duration_days":30,"days_operating_over_japan":7,"station_keeping_radius_km":5,"latency_reduction_vs_cloud":"over 40%","edge_processing_roundtrip_ms":68,"terrestrial_tower_equivalent_per_haps":500}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen","role":"Founder and CEO of Sceye"}],"products":["ST1 (Service Test 1)","SceyeCELL","High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS)"],"companies":[{"name":"Sceye","relationship":"private U.S. aerospace company; mission operator and technology partner of the filer"},{"name":"SoftBank Corp","ticker":"9434","relationship":"filer; telecommunications partner whose core network carried the stratospheric Direct-to-Device demonstration"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"model_name":"glm-5.3-flash","prompt_hash":"sha256:727b4b9429a443af","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-09-09T12:06:42.869Z","global_importance":28,"audience_relevance":32,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"large-cap Japanese telecom (SoftBank Corp, TSE 9434)","eventGravity":"technology demonstration milestone; world-first onboard mobile core + web server on a HAPS","issuerAuthored":false,"financialImpact":"none disclosed","partnershipContext":"mission run with private partner Sceye over SoftBank's core network","retailFavoriteBoost":"moderate -- SoftBank brand recognition and 6G/consumer connectivity angle"}},"durationMs":51567,"modelName":"glm-5.3-flash"}}