Space42 Successfully Completes First Public Test Flight of ApusNeo18 HAPS in the UAE

At Dubai Airshow 2025, Mira Aerospace, the High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) subsidiary of Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), the UAE-based AI-powered SpaceTech company with global reach, announced the successful completion of the first public test flight of its advanced, solar-powered HAPS model, ApusNeo18. Reaching stratospheric altitudes, the flight validated the system’s endurance, resilience, and readiness for commercial deployment. The aircraft carried an advanced Earth Observation payload developed in-house by Mira Aerospace, combining high-resolution optical and infrared sensors with real-time data transmission.

Although conducted in November, the UAE’s less favorable HAPS season, the flight confirmed ApusNeo18’s ability to perform across varied weather conditions, an essential step toward global operations.

Khaled Al Marzooqi, CEO of Mira Aerospace, Space42, said, “The successful test flight of ApusNeo18 marks the culmination of a comprehensive testing program to commercialize our latest payload technology. Sustaining solar-powered flight and reaching stratospheric altitudes in this season demonstrates reliable performance at scale. This achievement accelerates Space42’s mission to deliver premium geospatial intelligence and reflects the pace and precision with which Mira Aerospace is engineering advanced, high-altitude systems.”