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Facebook Aquila

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aquila
RoleAtmospheric satellite
Type of aircraft
National originUnited Kingdom (UK)
ManufacturerFacebook
Ascenta
First flight28 June 2016[1]
Retired26 June 2018[2]
Number built1

TheFacebook Aquila was an experimentalsolar-powereddrone developed byFacebook for use as anatmospheric satellite, intended to act as relay stations for providinginternet access to remote areas.The Aquila first flew on 28 June 2016 with a second aircraft successfully flying in 2017. Internal development of the Aquila aircraft was stopped in June 2018.

Development

[edit]

Aquila was developed by Facebook's Connectivity Lab.[3] The prototype airframe design and construction was led by Ascenta, aSomerset, England-based company acquired by Facebook in 2014.[1]Several scale models of the Aquila were built and flown to prove the concept prior to the full-scale prototype being built.[3]

Following construction at Ascenta's factory inBridgwater, England, the Aquila prototype was disassembled and shipped toArizona, where it was first flown on 28 June 2016.[1] The 96-minute flight was considered successful. However, during landing, the aircraft touched down short of the intended landing zone and was damaged;[1][4] theNational Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation into the accident,[5] as the drone suffered a structural failure just before touching down.[4] The aircraft was designed such that a production version would be able to support continuous flight in the stratosphere for 90 days.[6]

Following the crash, the prototype Aquila was modified withspoilers, provision forfeathering the propellers, and refinement of the exterior surface of the aircraft; the second flight took place on 22 May 2017, with the one-hour, 46-minute flight being considered successful.[7]In November 2017, a partnership withAirbus was announced to further development of the Aquila and the "high altitude platform station broadband connectivity system" (HAPS) project.[8]The same month, it was announced that Aquila would be displayed at theVictoria and Albert Museum's spring "The Future Starts here" exhibition in 2018.[9]

In June 2018, asaerospace manufacturers started designing and buildingHAPS, Facebook decided to stop its program to work with partners likeAirbus on HAPS connectivity and their technologies like flight control and high-density batteries.[2] In 2018, it was reported that Facebook and Airbus scheduled test flights inAustralia using the latter's Zephyr drone technology.[10] Zephyr shares the same blueprint with Aquila as it also uses solar power.[10]

Design

[edit]

The drone had a wingspan roughly the same as aBoeing 737,[1] but weighed only 880 pounds (400 kg).[3] Aquila was offlying wing configuration, the upper surface of the wing being covered insolar cells to power the aircraft's fourelectric motors;batteries, composing half the aircraft's weight, provided power storage for night flight.[1] Aquila was claimed to use the same amount of power as threeblow dryers.[7] While the prototype used a launch trolley to become airborne, production Aquilas were intended to be launched usinghelium balloons, carrying the aircraft to their operational height and releasing them;[3] landings would have taken place on grassy surfaces.[1]

Aquila was intended to fly at altitudes of up to 90,000 feet (27,000 m) during the day,[1] dropping to 60,000 feet (18,000 m) at night, with an endurance of up to three months, providing Internet service to a 50 miles (80 km)-radius area below its flight path;[3] ifcommunications spectrum was assigned for the project, it would allow the 66% ofEarth's surface that has poor or no internet access to be connected.[8] The technology, which used high-bandwidth lasers to beam the Internet to remote locations,[11] was intended to provide access to 4 billion users, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.[12]

Specifications

[edit]

Data from Collated from sources in the text above.

General characteristics

  • Crew: None
  • Wingspan: 140 ft (43 m)
  • Gross weight: 880 lb (399 kg)

Performance

  • Service ceiling: 90,000 ft (27,000 m)

See also

[edit]

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghCellan-Jones, Rory (21 July 2016)."Facebook's drones – made in Britain".BBC. London. Retrieved2017-12-05.
  2. ^abYael Maguire (26 June 2018)."High altitude connectivity: The next chapter". Facebook.
  3. ^abcdeKelly, Heather (31 July 2015)."Facebook built a giant Internet drone".CNN. Atlanta, GA. Retrieved2017-12-05.
  4. ^abHern, Alex (22 November 2016)."Facebook's solar-powered drone under investigation after 'accident'".The Guardian. London. Retrieved2017-12-05.
  5. ^Levin, Alan; Sarah Frier (21 November 2016)."Accident Involving Facebook Experimental Drone Under Investigation".Bloomberg. New York. Retrieved2017-12-05.
  6. ^Moore, Mike (June 27, 2018)."Facebook grounds Project Aquila".TechRadar. Retrieved2019-05-30.
  7. ^abHeath, Alex (29 Jun 2017)."Facebook's internet-beaming drone has completed its second test flight and didn't crash".Business Insider. New York. Retrieved2017-12-05.
  8. ^abBellamy III, Woodrow (21 November 2017)."Airbus, Facebook Partner on HAPS Connectivity".Aviation Today. Rockville, MD. Retrieved2017-12-05.
  9. ^Curtis, Sophie (23 November 2017)."Facebook's Aquila internet drone to go on public display for the first time at V&A Museum in London".Daily Mirror. London. Retrieved2017-12-05.
  10. ^abRussell, John (2019)."Facebook was reportedly testing solar-powered internet drones again — this time with Airbus".TechCrunch. Retrieved2019-05-30.
  11. ^Hambling, David (2019-05-09)."Solar Drones Are Filling the Skies, But There's Still No Clear Winner".Popular Mechanics. Retrieved2019-05-30.
  12. ^Ziegler, Bill; Ramage, Dave (2017).Future Focused Leaders: Relate, Innovate, and Invigorate for Real Educational Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. p. 48.ISBN 9781506376035.

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