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Facebook Aquila

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Aquila
General information
TypeAtmospheric satellite
National originUnited Kingdom (UK)
ManufacturerFacebook
Ascenta
Number built2
History
First flight28 June 2016[1]
Retired26 June 2018[2]

The Facebook Aquila was an experimental solar-powered drone developed by Facebook for use as an atmospheric satellite, intended to act as relay stations for providing internet access to remote areas. The Aquila first flew on 28 June 2016, with a second aircraft successfully flying in 2017. Internal development of the Aquila aircraft was stopped in June 2018.

Development

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Aquila was developed by Facebook's Connectivity Lab.[3] The prototype airframe design and construction was led by Ascenta, a Somerset, England-based company acquired by Facebook in 2014.[1] Several scale models of the Aquila were built and flown to prove the concept prior to the full-scale prototype being built.[3]

Following construction at Ascenta's factory in Bridgwater, England, the Aquila prototype was disassembled and shipped to Arizona, where it was first flown on 28 June 2016.[1] The 96-minute flight was considered successful. However, during landing, the aircraft touched down short of the intended landing zone and was damaged;[1][4] the National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation into the accident,[5] as the drone suffered a structural failure just before touching down.[4] The aircraft was designed such that a production version would be able to support continuous flight in the stratosphere for 90 days.[6]

Following the crash, the Aquila design was modified with wing spoilers, additional flight and structural sensors, revised autopilot software, a smoother finish, and a mechanism intended to stop and lock the propellers in a horizontal position before landing.[7] A second prototype flew successfully on 22 May 2017 for one hour and 46 minutes.[8][9]

In November 2017, a partnership with Airbus was announced to further develop Aquila and the "high altitude platform station broadband connectivity system" (HAPS) project.[10] The same month, it was announced that Aquila would be displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum during its 2018 exhibition, "The Future Starts Here".[11]

In June 2018, as aerospace manufacturers started designing and building HAPS, Facebook decided to stop its program to work with partners like Airbus on HAPS connectivity and their technologies like flight control and high-density batteries.[12] In 2018, it was reported that Facebook and Airbus scheduled test flights in Australia using the latter's Zephyr drone technology.[13] Zephyr shares the same blueprint with Aquila as it also uses solar power.[13]

Design

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The drone had a wingspan roughly the same as an Airbus A400M Atlas,[1][14] and had a maximum gross weight of 937 pounds (425 kg).[15] Aquila was of flying wing configuration, the upper surface of the wing being covered in solar cells to power the aircraft's four electric motors; batteries, composing half the aircraft's weight, provided power storage for night flight.[1] Aquila was claimed to use the same amount of power as three blow dryers.[8] While the prototype used a launch trolley to become airborne, production Aquilas were intended to be launched using helium balloons, carrying the aircraft to their operational height and releasing them;[3] landings would have taken place on grassy surfaces.[1]

Aquila was intended to fly at altitudes of up to 90,000 feet (27,000 m) during the day,[1] dropping to 60,000 feet (18,000 m) at night, with an endurance of up to three months, providing Internet service to a 50 miles (80 km)-radius area below its flight path;[3] if communications spectrum was assigned for the project, it would allow the 66% of Earth's surface that has poor or no internet access to be connected.[10] The technology, which used high-bandwidth lasers to beam the Internet to remote locations,[16] was intended to provide access to 4 billion users, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.[17]

Specifications (Aquila 1A, N565AQ)

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Data from sources in the text above, except where otherwise noted.

General characteristics

  • Crew: None
  • Wingspan: 140 ft (43 m)
  • Gross weight: 937 lb (425 kg) [15]

Performance

  • Planned operating altitude: 60,000 to 90,000 ft (18,000 to 27,000 m)[1]

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists


References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cellan-Jones, Rory (21 July 2016). "Facebook's drones – made in Britain". BBC. London. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  2. ↑ Harris, Mark (26 June 2018). "Facebook Cancels Program to Deliver Internet by Aquila Drones". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kelly, Heather (31 July 2015). "Facebook built a giant Internet drone". CNN. Atlanta, GA. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  4. 1 2 Hern, Alex (22 November 2016). "Facebook's solar-powered drone under investigation after 'accident'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  5. ↑ Levin, Alan; Sarah Frier (21 November 2016). "Accident Involving Facebook Experimental Drone Under Investigation". Bloomberg. New York. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  6. ↑ Moore, Mike (June 27, 2018). "Facebook grounds Project Aquila". TechRadar. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  7. ↑ "Aquila's successful second flight: Another step forward in bringing the world closer together". Facebook Engineering. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  8. 1 2 Heath, Alex (29 Jun 2017). "Facebook's internet-beaming drone has completed its second test flight and didn't crash". Business Insider. New York. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  9. ↑ Harris, Mark (26 June 2018). "Facebook Cancels Program to Deliver Internet by Aquila Drones". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 Bellamy III, Woodrow (21 November 2017). "Airbus, Facebook Partner on HAPS Connectivity". Aviation Today. Rockville, MD. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  11. ↑ Curtis, Sophie (23 November 2017). "Facebook's Aquila internet drone to go on public display for the first time at V&A Museum in London". Daily Mirror. London. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
  12. ↑ Yael Maguire (26 June 2018). "High altitude connectivity: The next chapter". Facebook.
  13. 1 2 Russell, John (2019). "Facebook was reportedly testing solar-powered internet drones again — this time with Airbus". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  14. ↑ "Atlas C.1 (A400M)". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  15. 1 2 Aviation Accident Final Report, DCA16CA197 (Report). National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Hambling, David (2019-05-09). "Solar Drones Are Filling the Skies, But There's Still No Clear Winner". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  17. ↑ Ziegler, Bill; Ramage, Dave (2017). Future Focused Leaders: Relate, Innovate, and Invigorate for Real Educational Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. p. 48. ISBN 9781506376035.
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