Facebook Cancels Aircraft-Building Project Designed To Bring Internet Connectivity To Secluded Areas

Facebook is no longer building its own aircraft that was supposed to be part of a project, which aims to bring internet connectivity to secluded regions. It is also closing the facility that it used in designing, developing and testing prototypes.

Mark Zuckerberg’s company announced in a blog post on Tuesday that Facebook is no longer moving forward with its aerospace engineering project. “We’ve decided not to design or build our own aircraft any longer, and to close our facility in Bridgwater [in U.K.],” Facebook said.

According to the social network, its decision to fold the project comes at a time when more leading companies in the aerospace industry are doing what it intended to do with the project. “As we’ve worked on these efforts, it’s been exciting to see leading companies in the aerospace industry start investing in this technology too — including the design and construction of new high-altitude aircraft.”

Facebook started working on the project in 2014. At the time, there were only a few companies interested in exploring this technology in order to bring internet connectivity to areas with limited access. The companies also worked independently, so Facebook was really determined to realize its goal at the time.

The social media giant invested in building blocks to make the technology work, including the most important aspect of the project, which was to build the aircraft needed for connectivity technologies like Aquila, a high altitude platform stations (HAPS) system. Hence, it built a facility in the U.K. where its team of experts focused on creating the aircraft.

Facebook’s initial efforts paid off. The team managed to demonstrate two successful full-scale test flights with its aircraft. The company also ensured that all of the things needed for the project to work were there. As such it set up other key parts of the program, such as the setting new records with the use of millimeter-wave (MMW) technology. It also worked on improving aviation policy, among other things.

The original plan involved using balloons to lift unmanned drones with the wingspan of a Boeing 737 airplane to an altitude of 27,400 meters. The drones would then stay there for three months, so they could transmit information using lasers. The first test suffered a structural failure, but Facebook saw it as a success because the drones were able to fly, as per Bloomberg.