Facebook Completes First Test Flight of Its Full-Scale Internet Drone

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Facebook Completes First Test Flight of Its Full-Scale Internet Drone

By CircleID Reporter
July 21, 2016, 7:37 pm PDT Views: 5,651 Add Comment

Facebook’s Connectivity Lab today reported its completion of the first full-scale test flight of Aquila, a high-altitude unmanned aircraft. Jay Parikh, Facebook’s Global Head of Engineering and Infrastructure: “Today Connectivity Lab announced a big milestone in this work: the first full-scale test flight of Aquila, our high-altitude unmanned aircraft. ... When complete, Aquila will be able to circle a region up to 60 miles in diameter, beaming connectivity down from an altitude of more than 60,000 feet using laser communications and millimeter wave systems. Aquila is designed to be hyper efficient, so it can fly for up to three months at a time. The aircraft has the wingspan of an airliner, but at cruising speed it will consume only 5,000 watts—the same amount as three hair dryers, or a high-end microwave.

Aquila construction: Wingspan wider then Boeing 737, designed to fly at altitudes 60,000 and 90,000 feet, flies at less then 80 miles per hour.

Aquila infographic / Source: Facebook (Click to Enlarge)

By CircleID Reporter — CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.
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