Facebook last year grounded its ambitious plan to develop a solar-powered drone to beam internet across the world, but the company isn’t done with the concept, it seems. The social media giant is working with aeronautics giant Airbus to test drones in Australia, according to a new report from Germany’s NetzPolitik. Using a request under […]
View More Facebook is reportedly testing solar-powered internet drones again — this time with AirbusCategory: Aquila
Facebook permanently grounds its Aquila solar-powered internet plane
Facebook has announced that it will no longer pursue its dream of building a gigantic, solar-powered plane to blast internet to underserved communities via laser. Surprisingly, it’s just not practical.
View More Facebook permanently grounds its Aquila solar-powered internet planeFacebook isn’t building massive drones anymore
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Four years ago, Facebook shared with the world its ambitious dream of building massive drones. Today, that dream is dead.
In a Tuesday blog post, the company announced the end of its Aquila program, an effort to construct a “high altitude platform station system” (read: massive drones) that sought to bring high-speed internet access — and, of course, access to Facebook — to an estimated 4 billion people across the globe who do not have it.
“As we’ve worked on these efforts, it’s been exciting to see leading companies in the aerospace industry start investing in this technology too — including the design and construction of new high-altitude aircraft,” Yael Maguire, an engineering director at the company, said in the Facebook post. “Given these developments, we’ve decided not to design or build our own aircraft any longer, and to close our facility in Bridgwater.” Read more…
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View More Facebook isn’t building massive drones anymore