Russian specialists from ANO "SPC "Ushkuynik" have developed a communication system project based on stratostats and airships — a functional analogue of Starlink. According to Evgeny Mandelshtam, advisor to the CEO of the enterprise, the implementation of the project will allow providing communication to extended lines and remote areas within a year.
According to Mandelshtam, soaring platforms — aerostats and airships — are still perceived by many as something from the world of steampunk or fantastic blockbusters, although in fact these are long-established technologies. They were actively used during the Second World War and continue to be used in peaceful life in the 21st century. Ushkuynik has rethought this idea and proposed a practical alternative to satellite communications — a soaring platform for distributing the Internet.
One "Ushkuynik" is capable of deploying aerostat communication over large areas within a year, and in cooperation with other enterprises, it can provide infrastructure for large cities and key transport arteries.
Mandelshtam emphasized that there is no need to put a satellite into orbit hundreds of kilometers away if you can raise a communication point just a few kilometers and cover hundreds of kilometers around it. He added that such aerostats and all the necessary network equipment can be produced domestically, and scaling here is much faster than in space projects.
Ushkuynik clarified that the project involves raising soaring platforms to a height of 15–40 kilometers.
