Here at us, we like to keep up to date with all things going on in the aerospace industry. This week’s big news is that Facebook, backer of Internet.org, is set to buy Titan Aerospace.
Internet.org is a project which aims to make internet access affordable across the globe. According to recent figures, there are some 5 billion people without access to the World Wide Web, that’s a third of the globe’s population, and this project is set to change that. Facebook has partnered with Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera and Qualcomm to create data-compression technologies and cheaper smartphones to make browsing the internet cheaper.
Orbital Solar-Powered Drones
Source:Titan AerospaceTitan Aerospace makes orbital, solar-powered drones which are able to fly for five years without landing. TechCrunch have reported that Facebook are looking at buying the company for a whopping figure of 60 million dollars.
Facebook then plans to use these drones to provide parts of the world without access to the internet, such as Africa, with reliable internet access.
The first step is to build 11,000 unarmed aerial vehicles to blanket these parts of the world.
The models that are reported to be used are the Solara 50 and 60, which are launched from internal battery packs. They are able to rise to 20 Kilometres above sea level and can remain there with enough energy for 5 years. Capabilities like this make them perfect for regional internet systems. According to TechCrunch, all of Titan Aerospace’s production would then be for the Internet.org project.
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