Facebook’s high-altitude internet-connectivity drone project was named Aquila.
Aquila was an experimental, solar-powered flying-wing aircraft developed by Facebook’s Connectivity Lab. The plan was to operate drones in the stratosphere as atmospheric satellite-like relay stations, using high-bandwidth laser links to help deliver internet access to remote regions. Facebook envisioned eventual aircraft staying aloft for months at a time.
The prototype had a wingspan comparable to a Boeing 737 but weighed about 880 pounds. Solar cells powered four electric motors during daylight, while batteries supplied energy at night. The planned operating altitude reached roughly 90,000 feet by day and 60,000 feet at night.
Aquila first flew in Arizona on June 28, 2016. Its landing damaged the prototype, but a modified aircraft completed a successful second flight in May 2017. Facebook stopped internal development of the program in 2018. Aquila is often confused with Internet.org, which was Facebook’s broader connectivity initiative, or Google’s Loon, which used high-altitude balloons rather than aircraft.