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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/21/facebook-solar-powered-internet-plane-test-flight-aquila
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| Facebook's solar-powered internet plane takes flight | Facebook's solar-powered internet plane takes flight |
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| Facebook has announced the first successful test flight of a high-altitude solar plane to bring internet access to remote parts of the world. | Facebook has announced the first successful test flight of a high-altitude solar plane to bring internet access to remote parts of the world. |
| The Aquila drone has the wingspan of an airliner but weighs less than a car. When cruising it consumes just 5,000 watts – the same as three hairdryers or a powerful microwave. | The Aquila drone has the wingspan of an airliner but weighs less than a car. When cruising it consumes just 5,000 watts – the same as three hairdryers or a powerful microwave. |
| The first flight took place on 28 June in Arizona. Facebook said the test went better than expected and that Aquila’s 96-minute flight was three times longer than planned. | The first flight took place on 28 June in Arizona. Facebook said the test went better than expected and that Aquila’s 96-minute flight was three times longer than planned. |
| Aquila was developed in Bridgwater, Somerset, by Ascenta, a designer of solar-powered drones that Facebook bought in March 2014. The drone, designed to fly non-stop for three months, will use lasers to beam down internet access to remote areas without online capacity. | Aquila was developed in Bridgwater, Somerset, by Ascenta, a designer of solar-powered drones that Facebook bought in March 2014. The drone, designed to fly non-stop for three months, will use lasers to beam down internet access to remote areas without online capacity. |
| Facebook installed a team of engineers at Bridgwater from fields of expertise including aerospace, avionics and software and who had previously worked at organisations such as Nasa, Boeing and the Royal Air Force. | Facebook installed a team of engineers at Bridgwater from fields of expertise including aerospace, avionics and software and who had previously worked at organisations such as Nasa, Boeing and the Royal Air Force. |
| Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, revealed in March 2015 that the company had been testing drones in the skies over the UK. | Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, revealed in March 2015 that the company had been testing drones in the skies over the UK. |
| Facebook intends Aquila to be part of a fleet of planes that will provide the internet to 4 billion people in sub-Saharan Africa and other remote regions that do not have access currently. | |
| Jay Parikh, Facebook’s head of engineering and infrastructure, said in a blog: “We’re encouraged by this first successful flight, but we have a lot of work ahead of us … In our next tests, we will fly Aquila faster, higher and longer, eventually taking it above 60,000 feet.” |