New Delhi: With the sucessful first test flight of solar-powered net-connectivity plane Aquila, Mark Zuckerberg moves a step closer towards his mission of 'connecting the world' with internet.
Facebook's Connectivity Lab completed the full-scale test of Aquila which is designed to bring internet connectivity down to the Earth using Laser technology.
The flight took place before dawn in Yuma, Arizona. Facebook's original mission was to fly Aquila for 30 minutes, but things went quite well for the company and it decided to keep the plane up for 96 minutes. Aquila has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 737, but has to weigh as little as possible to stay up for as long as possible.
That is why the body of the plane is made of a carbon fiber composite so the whole thing weighs less than 1,000 pounds -- or about the same as a grand piano.
Watch the video of Aquila's first successful flight here:
(Video credits: Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook)
(With IANS inputs)
