Facebook drones the size of a Boeing 747 will be in the air for months

Not so long ago, Facebook announced its intention to bring the Internet to the most inaccessible corners of the world (Google made a similar statement even earlier). According to Facebook, the best way to implement such a project is to use drones - automatic aircraft.

Drones should be at high altitude so as not to threaten the current air traffic, and work as a signal retransmitter. Now the company has specified what such aircraft will be like.

According to a Facebook spokesperson, the drones will be the size of a Boeing 747, but weigh much less than an airplane. Regarding the size of the drone, it was also said that the size of one of the models that Facebook is working on now is equal to the size of 6-7 Toyota Prius cars, and the mass of the drone will be small - approximately equal to the weight of four tires of the same Toyota. The company does not yet provide detailed technical information, unfortunately, therefore, it is necessary to accept such “system units of measurement” from Facebook, such as airplanes, cars and tires.

Such drones will fly at high altitude - much higher than passenger airliners fly (20-25 kilometers), and they will be in the air for months and years. At the same time, the laws of the United States or other countries do not provide for the regulation of flights at this altitude, as well as the rules for signal transceivers at an altitude of about 20-25 km are not described. The first sample of the drone will be tested next year, in the United States.

The task of creating flying drones, providing access to the network of residents of remote regions is not so simple. The authors of the project have to solve issues in materials science, aviation, solar energy and touch on many other areas.

It is worth recalling that the project itself is designed to be implemented in 21 countries of the world, including the countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Viamashable