Vista Research, Inc.

Aerostar has taken lighter-than-air technologies to all new heights by leveraging the most brilliant minds, materials, and machinery for over 65 years to connect, protect, and save lives. Aerostar traces its roots through Raven Industries, back to the General Mills Applied Sciences Division, where Barrage Balloons and other scientific items were developed and manufactured for the war effort. Aerostar International was established in 1986 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raven Industries, carrying on everything which Raven was at its inception. From 2012 to 2021, Aerostar partnered with Loon, LLC (formerly known as Project Loon), a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Aerostar leveraged the Loon partnership and 65 years history of balloon expertise to design and build the Thunderhead stratospheric platform. Most notably, Aerostar developed the Thunderstorm system to navigate balloons in the stratosphere capable of finding and maintaining station above designated areas by changing altitude to catch winds. In 2021, Aerostar demonstrated that a stratospheric constellation of communications can be established over a battlefield using a mobile ad hoc network, covering over 200 miles. Their primary purpose was the manufacture of high altitude research balloons for the U.S.