
About Us
Our Mission
Stratoship is making persistent monitoring and communications accessible to everyone.
Stratoship was founded by Daniel Field in 2020. In the same year, Stratoship was selected to be part of the RMIT University Firefly Pathfinder Project.
Daniel designed and manufactured our first self-designed, self-built high-altitude balloon, known as “The Pebble”. The Pebble was flown in 2021 and successfully made it to the stratosphere.
Our Story
The Pebble during an inflation test
The Pebble in the stratosphere
Our success in the Firefly Pathfinder Project paved the way for Stratoship to build a propulsive airship prototype, the SZ-155, as part of the HAPS Challenge. In 2022, we launched our first fully functional stratospheric airship prototype.
The SZ-155 during an inflation test
In 2025, the SZ-155 successfully flew in the stratosphere above central Queensland. The prototype airship made it to 65,000 ft and flew for 11 hours and 12 minutes in total. It spent over 8 hours in the stratosphere during the flight, and marked Australia’s first sovereign designed and built HAPS (high-altitude platform station) to make it to the stratosphere.
The flight also carried a number of payloads, including an ignition detection sensor to test the Stratoship’s capability in identifying wildfires and bushfires from the stratosphere.
The SZ-155 before launch
The SZ-155 before launch
The SZ-155 in the stratosphere
Daniel Field
Managing Director
Dan holds over 20 years of experience in aerospace and communications engineering, working across technical, management and business roles.
Jennifer Williams
Chief Operating Officer
Jennifer has worked across Defence, aviation, business, marketing and operations. Jennifer also holds a commercial pilot licence and is a remote pilot.
Josh Quilty
Chief Remote Pilot
Josh has over 9 years of experience working as a commercial pilot, remote pilot and small business operator.