Video: Inside Facebook's Drone Factory!
Connectivity Lab of (or nicknamed DRONE FACTORY) Facebook works on developing a range of new technologies — including high-altitude aircraft, satellites, free space optics, and terrestrial solutions — to help accelerate the process of bringing connectivity to the unserved and underserved.
Its vision is to use these technologies as building blocks, allowing operators, governments, and others to build networks in these regions that are at least an order of magnitude more cost-effective. Yester it announced that the first full-scale model of Aquila — the high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft designed by our aerospace team in the U.K. — is complete and ready for flight testing.
Aquila is solar powered, and when launched, it will create a 50-km communications radius for up to 90 days, beaming a signal down to the people in that area. This signal will be received by small towers and dishes that will then convert it into a Wi-Fi or LTE network that people can connect to with their cellphones and smartphones.
To make all of that possible, Connectivity Lab had to make the plane really big and really light. Aquila has the wingspan of a Boeing 737 airplane but weighs a third as much as an electric car. The monocoque wing is made from a cured carbon fiber that is stronger than steel for the same mass of material. Before it was cured, the material made sure to be flexible, so it can be molded into the right shape.
Aquila will fly at between 60,000 and 90,000 feet during the day — above commercial air traffic and above the weather. The air at that altitude is thin, about 5 percent that of sea level, so Facebook utilized a high aspect ratio wing and an undercambered airfoil in the design to optimize its lift-to-drag ratio. During the day, the aircraft will fly at 90,000 feet to maximize its ability to charge its solar cells. At night, it will glide down to 60,000 feet, taking advantage of gravitational potential energy to consume less power. And the communication payload sits in the center of the aircraft, in the fuselage.
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