Twenty Years of Near-Space Flight Test.
StratoStar Systems is a high-altitude balloon flight test company. Firm-fixed price, published dates, and 1,000+ missions behind us.
What Is StratoStar?
StratoStar Systems is a high-altitude balloon flight test company. We fly your space hardware and stratospheric UAS payloads to 60,000–100,000 ft — into near-space — then return real in-situ flight data and the recovered hardware, typically within 72 hours.
We operate two flight test divisions. Our Space Flight Test division serves CubeSat developers, component manufacturers, prime contractors, and defense and research programs that need real flight-heritage data. Our UAS Flight Test division qualifies stratospheric payloads — EO/IR, RF, SATCOM, and ISR sensors — bound for HAPS, HALE platforms, and high-altitude balloon programs.
Firm-fixed price, quoted in two business days. Published flight windows you can hold a schedule against. You do not need a finished payload to get a number.
How We Got Here
StratoStar started with a simple idea: make learning real. For over 20 years we've flown student-built experiments into near-space — and somewhere along the way, the aerospace industry noticed that the same flights could de-risk real hardware.
We still fly student projects. Because the principle that makes us a good flight test partner for engineers makes us a good lab partner for educators: we fly alongside you, not ahead of you. Your mission advances. Your team learns. Your project moves forward.
Flight Test Heritage
1,000+
Missions Flown
99%+
Recovery Rate
20+
Years of Operations
100K ft
Max Altitude
How We Show Up
Engineer for Others
We're not here to build our own reputation or advance our own interests. We're here to advance yours. Every engagement leaves your team more capable — not more dependent on us.
We Fly Alongside
We don't fly ahead of you and hand back a verdict. We solve problems with your team, not for them. We bring 20 years of near-space experience to the parts you don't want to build twice — and you stay the expert on your hardware.
Real Flight Test. Real Data.
We deliver integrated, in-situ flight data earlier in your development process than you thought possible. Not a fragmented set of chamber tests — a real flight, in the real environment, with a package your team can take straight to a program review.
Based in Indianapolis
StratoStar Systems LLC is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. We conduct flight test operations from multiple launch sites across the central United States, with additional operations capability from Lander, Wyoming. Our operations are US-based and US-person-operated.