At Facebook’s F8 developer conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer announced that Facebook had successfully tested a version of their UAS. It is very unlikely that they tested anything near the size of the rendered UAS above, which has the wingspan of a Boeing 767, but weighs less than the average car. Facebook plans to have their UAS stay aloft for up to three months as a time using solar panels. The craft is planned to fly between 60,000 and 90,000 feet, with laser downlinked internet to users. Facebook isn’t the only player in the race to provide 100% internet access to the world, Google has tested their system using high-altitude balloons. Elon Musk’s Spacex is also trying to compete in this field. The company received a $1 billion investment from Google for their plans to use small satellites to provide internet to those in rural land developing areas.
Sources: New York Times Tech Crunch