Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg holds a propeller pod of the solar-powered Aquila drone on stage during a keynote at the Facebook F8 conference in San Francisco, California April 12, 2016. Facebook Inc said July 21, 2016, it had completed a successful test flight of a solar-powered drone that it hopes will help it extend internet connectivity to every corner of the planet. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo
SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc said it had completed a successful test flight of a solar-powered drone that it hopes will help it extend Internet connectivity to every corner of the planet.
Aquila, Facebook's lightweight, high-altitude aircraft, flew at a few thousand feet for 96 minutes in Yuma, Arizona, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his Facebook page. The company ultimately hopes to have a fleet of Aquilas that can fly for at least three months at a time at 60,000 feet (18,290 metres) and communicate with each other to deliver internet access.
