Facebook’s flying-internet efforts mirror a similar project that’s underway at Google.
The Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, is putting together a lab
where a team of Facebook engineers will build flying drones, satellites,
and infrared lasers capable of beaming internet connections to people.
Mr. Zuckerberg on Thursday revealed the project to be known as the Facebook Connectivity Lab.
According to Mr. Zuckerberg, the lab’s engineering staff already
spans “many of the world’s leading experts in aerospace and
communications technology,” including researchers from NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Lab, NASA’s Ames Research Center, and the National Optical
Astronomy Observatory.
The company is also now adding engineers from a British company
called Ascenta, an outfit that helped create the world’s longest
solar-powered unmanned aircraft.
