\u201cWe successfully gathered a lot of data to help us optimize Aquila\u2019s efficiency,\u201d Mark Zuckerberg says.<\/p>\n
A solar-powered drone backed by Facebook that could one day provide worldwide internet access has quietly completed a test flight in Arizona after an earlier attempt ended with a crash landing.<\/p>\n
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s long-term plan for the drone, called Aquila, is to have it and others provide internet access to 4 billion people around the world who are currently in the dark.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Aquila is ready, it will be a fleet of solar-powered planes that will beam internet connectivity across the world,\u201d he wrote Thursday on Facebook.<\/p>\n
The drone\u2019s second flight was completed in May at Yuma Proving Ground, The Yuma Sun reported.<\/p>\n
The drone flew with more sensors, new spoilers and a horizontal propeller stopping system to help it better land after the crash in December. It was in the air for an hour and 46 minutes and elevated 3,000 feet (910 meters).<\/p>\n
The drone flew with the engineering team watching a live stream from a helicopter chasing the drone, said Martin Luis Gomez, Facebook\u2019s director of aeronautical platforms. The team was thrilled with the outcome, Gomez said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe improvements we implemented based on Aquila\u2019s performance during its first test flight made a significant difference in this flight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The drone weighs about 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) and has a longer wingspan than a Boeing 747. The drone runs mostly on autopilot, but there are manned ground crews to manage certain maneuvers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe successfully gathered a lot of data to help us optimize Aquila\u2019s efficiency,\u201d Zuckerberg said. \u201cNo one has ever built an unmanned airplane that will fly for months at a time, so we need to tune every detail to get this right.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe successfully gathered a lot of data to help us optimize Aquila\u2019s efficiency,\u201d Mark Zuckerberg says. A solar-powered drone backed by Facebook that could one day provide worldwide internet access has quietly completed a test flight in Arizona after an earlier attempt ended with a crash landing. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s long-term plan for the\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_scj_primary_category_id":51,"_scj_featured":true,"_scj_featured_from":"","_scj_featured_until":"","_scj_featured_order":2234,"_scj_visibility_class":"current","_scj_layout_family":"standard","_scj_article_style":"","_scj_display_overrides":[],"_scj_intro_image_id":3675,"_scj_intro_alt":"Aquila","_scj_intro_caption":"","_scj_intro_class":"","_scj_intro_float":"","_scj_full_image_id":3675,"_scj_full_alt":"Aquila","_scj_full_caption":"Aquila","_scj_full_class":"","_scj_full_float":"","_scj_media_type":"","_scj_media_provider":"","_scj_media_external_id":"","_scj_media_url":"","_scj_media_poster_id":0,"_scj_media_width":0,"_scj_media_height":0,"_scj_media_aspect_ratio":"","_scj_media_description":"","_scj_gallery_items":[],"_scj_related_post_ids":[],"_scj_additional_authors":[],"scj_layout_family":"standard","scj_media_provider":"","scj_media_url":"","scj_full_caption":"Aquila","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[4243,4242],"class_list":["post-3677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-communication-networks","tag-ecotechnology"],"yoast_head":"\n