Involve Space receives ESA funding for StratoSAR, Europe's first stratospheric Synthetic Aperture Radar Earth Observation system

Following the contract signed with ESA, Involve Space's StratoSAR will provide high-revisit monitoring of critical infrastructure for risk management and territorial security.

Como, 16 September 2026 - Involve Space, an Italian and European leading operator in autonomous stratospheric platforms and artificial intelligence for Earth Observation, announces the signature of a contract with the European Space Agency's (ESA) InCubed (Investing in Industrial Innovation) programme, a co-funding initiative managed by ESA Φ-lab that is dedicated to the development of commercially viable products and services based on Earth Observation.

The agreement, endorsed by the Italian Delegation to ESA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), supports the development of StratoSAR, a project dedicated to a stratospheric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system. Involve Space acts as Prime Contractor, with Echoes, an Italian radar and SAR systems specialist, and Titan4, an Earth Observation data analytics platform for infrastructure and risk monitoring, as consortium members.

Scheduled for release in 2028, StratoSAR combines reusable HAPS (High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite) platforms, a compact X-band SAR radar sensor, AI-assisted intelligent station-keeping and cloud analytics. The system turns radar data into ready-to-use operational intelligence for critical infrastructure operators, emergency response, the insurance and security sectors, delivering persistent and high-revisit monitoring over areas of interest, in any weather condition.

StratoSAR payload technology integrates with Involve Space's operating proprietary technology ecosystem: Stratostats® and Stratorelay® platforms for long-duration stratospheric monitoring and mapping, Neurostar® AI software for predictive stratospheric navigation and autonomous station-keeping, and CLEAR geo-intelligence platform for real-time data analysis and processing of natural language information that enables fast and effective decision-making.

Receiving funding from ESA marks a fundamental milestone in Involve Space's industrial scaling and commercial maturity. With StratoSAR we are bringing to Europe, for the first time, a persistent SAR capability operated from the stratosphere: a layer of Earth intelligence complementary to satellites, capable of responding in real time to the operational needs of critical infrastructure operators and to the risk management of strategic assets.

stated Jonathan Polotto, CEO & Chairman of the Board of Directors.

StratoSAR is the missing piece that completes our vision of a multi-domain Earth Intelligence infrastructure. To the optical and environmental data collected by our platforms we now add the ability to see through clouds, at night and in any weather condition and obtain processed information in natural language and in real time, thus enabling prompt decision making and effective response. It is a decisive step towards greater European autonomy in managing strategic data over its own territory.

said Claudio Piazzai, Executive President and Chief Strategy Officer of Involve Space.

StratoSAR addresses a capability gap in European Earth intelligence, since stratospheric SAR monitoring is persistent, weather-independent and operable independently of satellite infrastructure, thus responding directly to the growing strategic needs of European institutions and industrial operators.

Over the next two years, the ESA InCubed co-funding will enable the StratoSAR consortium to bring the stratospheric radar payload to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) close to commercialisation, to add a new layer of radar geo-intelligence to CLEAR for commercial and government applications, and to carry out StratoSAR demonstration campaigns on real use cases in the infrastructure, emergency response, insurance and security sectors, supporting Europe's sovereignty on space access and capabilities.

About Involve Space

Involve Space is an Italian aerospace company operating in stratospheric balloon technology, with the mission of developing innovative platforms for Earth Observation, defence, testing and research. Founded in Como in 2021, the company has carried out numerous commercial missions and introduced proprietary solutions such as Stratostats® and Stratorelay®, enabling Earth Observation applications aligned with satellite standards and, in some respects, capable of delivering a superior level of accuracy and timeliness. Backed by international investors and European development programmes, Involve Space combines economic growth and social responsibility, pursuing a model of accessible, low-environmental-impact innovation with global expansion ambitions.

Press contacts

Paola Vercesi

paola.v@involvespace.eu