If that headline has left you a little befuddled fear not, all will become clear, but first take a look at that grin on Zuckerberg’s face.

Facebook yesterday released footage of Aquila’s first flight, the solar-powered airplane they designed to ‘bring internet access to people living in remote locations’.

The flight actually took place at dawn on June 28 in Arizona, and by all accounts it was a massive success. Here’s USA Today:

Aquila, with the wingspan of a Boeing 737, remained aloft at low altitudes for 96 minutes, more than three times longer than Facebook originally planned. Facebook had been testing a much smaller scale version of Aquila for several months, but this flight a month ago was the first true test of the aircraft.

Hoots and high fives accompanied the successful launch, a milestone in Facebook’s mission to beam the Internet to people who don’t have it.

The concept: Circling a region, the aircraft will use new laser-beam technology to deliver fast Internet to people in a 60-mile radius. Aquila will transmit a signal that can be received by the antennas of small towers and dishes on the ground. The antennas will convert the signal into Wi-Fi or 4G networks.

The more pessimistic out there will say it’s just another way for Facebook to grow its user base, and maybe there’s a bit of that too, but increased access to the wealth of information (and cat videos) that is the internet is surely a good thing.

Take to the sky, Facebook.

[source:usatoday]