Facebook (FB) has built its first full-scale, solar-powered drone. Called Aquila, the unmanned aircraft is part of Facebook’s long term project to bring wireless Internet to remote locations, especially for those that live far away from cell towers or fiber optic lines. Since the company launched Internet.org, it has been focusing on making sure that the 4 billion people in the world who don’t have access to the Internet, are connected. CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg said, ‘This effort is important because 10 percent of the world’s population lives in areas without existing Internet infrastructure. To affordably connect everyone, we need to build completely new technologies.’ The company’s Connectivity Lab worked with Facebook’s Internet.org, spending about 14 months to build the aircraft. Powered by the sun, the giant v-shaped plane is made of light carbon fiber that has the wingspan of a Boeing 737, according to the social media giant. It weighs less than a car, and can fly for 3 months at a time, from anywhere between 60,000 feet and 90,000 feet, which is far above commercial airspace. TheStreet’s U-Jin Lee reports from New York.
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