Led by former Google innovator Greg Wyler, OneWeb looks to bring the Internet to billions through a massive satellite network, one they say will be the largest in the world. The results are have promising, meaning that balloons may be a big part of the Internet’s future. The first tests for Project Loon began in the summer of 2013 in New Zealand and have since expanded to cover more ground. By partnering with numerous telecommunications companies, Google hopes Project Loon can use wireless LTE technology to allow people within the coverage area to connect to the web from phones and other mobile devices. In addition to smart programming, the balloons are solar-powered and can provide Internet coverage to an area around 40 kilometers in diameter. In effect, the balloons form an enormous communication network that may one day span the entire globe.

The balloons in question are designed with an algorithm utilizes natural patterns of sub-atmospheric wind to ensure that consistent coverage is provided when and where it’s needed most. Google’s hopes are that Project Loon will provide an inexpensive method for increasing the coverage area needed to bring the web to inhabitants of especially remote areas.

Though it sounds strange, the project is actually ingenious. These special high-altitude balloons are launched into the stratosphere (around 20 kilometers above the surface of the Earth) where they float safely above the danger of airplanes and unfavorable weather. Project LoonĪdopting an innovative – if unorthodox – strategy, Google’s own Project Loon aims to make the Internet more widely available through the use of giant balloons. And while each has a similar short-term mission, the future applications of each is impressively distinct. Through at least two initiatives of their own and a recent $1 billion investment in SpaceX, Google has made it clear that connecting the globe is a serious priority both in the immediate future and beyond.Īt the moment, three major efforts are being made to connect the globe to the power of the Internet. The company most invested in providing Internet access to the entire planet is ‘net behemoth Google. Now, decades later, we are on the verge of yet another space race – the race to build a satellite network capable of bringing the Internet to the estimated 4.4 billion people currently living without access to the “world wide” web. That high-stakes competition ushered in a new era of space exploration featuring incredible levels of ingenuity, creativity, and scientific mastery. NASAīack in the 1960s, the race was on between the United States and the USSR to see who could get to the moon first. The USSR's small satellite is responsible for starting the space race with the US.

Race into space strategy guide