Facebook’s Connectivity Lab has announced the 1st full-scale test flight of Aquila, its high-altitude unmanned aircraft which is to be used to provide Net connectivity to all the corners of the globe.
Aquila is a solar-powered airplane that can be used to bring affordable Internet to hundreds of millions of people in the hardest-to-reach places, according to a official blog post by Head of Engineering & Infrastructure Jay Parikh. 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 & millimeter wave systems.
Aquila is designed to be hyper efficient, so it can fly for up to 3 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.We’ve been flying a one-fifth scale version of Aquila for several months, but this was the first time we’ve flown the full-scale aircraft. This test flight was designed to verify our operational models and overall aircraft design.
“To prove out the full capacity of the design, we will push Aquila to the limits in a lengthy series of tests in the coming months and years. Failures are expected and sometimes even planned; we learn more when we push the plane to the brink”, said the post.
The 1st functional check was a low-altitude flight, and it was so successful that Connectivity Lab ended up flying Aquila for more than 90 minutes — 3 times longer than originally planned. It was able to verify several performance models & components, including aerodynamics, batteries, control systems, & crew training. In the next tests, the Lab will fly Aquila faster, higher & longer, eventually taking it above 60,000 feet.
For the video of the flight click on the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/facebook/videos/10154835146021729/
Image Credit: Connectivity Lab
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