Inside the ApusDuo, the pseudo-satellite drone that could fly for a year

Our connected world depends on satellites, but once in orbit they offer little flexibility for fluid situations on the ground. Enter the ApusDuo.

Built by Silicon Valley’s Uavos, the ApusDuo drone is a so-called high-altitude pseudo-satellite. Designed for long flights at up to 20,000m, twice the height of airliners, the unmanned solar aircraft has a wingspan of 28m. A 10m prototype recently reached the maximum altitude in testing.   

Floating on air

The ApusDuo could offer a reactive alternative to relatively inflexible craft in low Earth orbit (160-2,000km) thanks to its manoeuvrability, Uavos claims. Built with carbon fibre-based materials, the aircraft will provide video surveillance and monitoring, internet coverage, radio relays and more. 

Pseudo-satellites will catch air currents over the ocean for extended missions over northern latitudes, says Uavos board member Vadim Tarasov. They will also fly over sparsely populated areas with no airfields.

Tackling turbulence

The drone’s autopilot controls the very flexible wings by analysing the extended aspect ratio of their deformation and adjusting lift punctually, allowing an equal distribution of structural load across the wing. Their flexibility is also designed to cope with turbulence during long missions.