Facebook's Internet-Beaming Drone Flies for the First Time
The Maiden Voyage of Aquila
Dave Gershgorn | July 21, 2016
Today [July 21, 2016], Facebook is announcing their first test flight of its first Aquila drone. It flew for 96 minutes, more than three times longer than Facebook engineers planned.
Aquila is essentially one big wing, spanning 113 feet and weighing less than the average car. The entire drone is run by a computer, which engineers refer to as "autopilot." For takeoff, Aquila was strapped onto a dolly and hurled down a runway. When the computer sensed that the drone was moving fast enough to take off, the straps were cut, and Aquila reached for the sky.
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| (Facebook's Internet-Beaming Drone Flies for the First time. July 21, 2016) Source: http://www.popsci.com/facebooks-internet-drone-flies-for-first-time |
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"Facebook's Aquila high-altitude, unmanned, solar-powered plane conducted its first full-scale flight on June 28. Facebook said it was a success but that there is a long road ahead before the Aquila program can begin commercial Internet delivery to the world's unconnected populations. Here's Facebooks assessment, as of February 2016, of connectivity levels worldwide." Source: http://spacenews.com/facebook-reports-successful-flight-of-full-scale-internet-delivery-drone/ |
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| "Aquila’s First Flight: A Big Milestone Toward Connecting Billions of People." Source: http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/07/aquilas-first-flight-a-big-milestone-toward-connecting-billions-of-people/ |
<more at http://www.popsci.com/facebooks-internet-drone-flies-for-first-time; related articles and links: http://spacenews.com/facebook-reports-successful-flight-of-full-scale-internet-delivery-drone/ (Facebook reports successful flight of full-scale Internet-delivery drone. July 25, 2016) and http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/07/aquilas-first-flight-a-big-milestone-toward-connecting-billions-of-people/ (Aquila’s First Flight: A Big Milestone Toward Connecting Billions of People. July 21, 2016)>
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