Murzilli Consulting has been selected as the prime contractor for the Canarias Stratoport for HAPS & UAS programme, an infrastructure project designed to centralise long-distance operations for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and high-altitude platform systems (HAPS) at various altitudes — low, medium and high — while operating beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS), based at the Parque Tecnológico de Fuerteventura SA, MP (Fuerteventura Technology Park) in Fuerteventura, Spain.
“Unlike traditional demonstration sites, this infrastructure is fully equipped for actual missions, providing features such as drone hangars, high-altitude sensors and advanced operational facilities for the 80% of Europe’s leading space companies set to conduct missions here,” according to a company statement.
“The Stratoport integrates traditional aviation, space technologies, drone operations and advanced traffic management into a single, cohesive platform. Consequently, key project activities include researching optimal airspace areas for future UAS and HAPS operations across different altitudes — very low level (VLL), medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE), high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) and high-altitude operations (HAO), such as balloons and HAPS. Additionally, the project involves studying both European and national airspace as well as stratospheric regulations to ensure proper risk assessment and seamless integration of these operations into air traffic management (ATM) services. For the above reasons, the project includes Spain’s first U-space airspace risk assessment (ARA) fully delivered by a private company, setting a new benchmark for safety, cost-effectiveness and speed of innovation in the sector. Another first for this project is the requirement to deliver an entire aerospace framework by creating permanent airspace structures and dedicated flight corridors specifically for HAPS operations.”
Murzilli Consulting’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Commercial Space, Juan José Sola, will lead the consortium of aerospace companies, including the Andalusian Foundation for Aerospace Development (FADA) and Navya Solutions, in delivering such complex aerospace initiative, managing everything from the Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) standardisation for the Stratoport to the U-Space ARA and beyond. The work will be closely coordinated with air navigation service providers (ANSPs), including ENAIRE and military authorities.
(Image: Fuerteventura Technology Park (PTFSA)
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Murzilli Consulting to Lead Aerospace Project in Fuerteventura
