Loon
Created Wednesday 28 October 2020
See also: {[transportation:Balloons]]
See also: https://zim.tbruce.com/Computer/Technology/Companies/Google/Loon.html
Articles
Alphabet’s Loon claims stratospheric flight record of 312 days
Paul Sawers - October 28, 2020 6:01 AM
Alphabet’s high-flying Loon subsidiary is laying claim to a new flight duration record for its internet-beaming stratospheric balloons. The company said it has beaten its own record of 223 days, which it announced in July 2020, by nearly three months.
The announcement comes as myriad public and private entities seek new ways to expand internet coverage to the farthest reaches of the Earth. Constellations of micro-satellites from companies like Amazon and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are competing to bring connectivity to hard-to-reach places. Last week, Microsoft launched Azure Space to make its cloud unit “the platform and ecosystem of choice” in this burgeoning space race, much like a new business Amazon launched just a few months before. Bill Gates also recently led an $85.2 million investment in satellite antenna company Kymeta, which helps equip any vehicle or vessel with internet access.
Alphabet’s Loon sets a new record for longest stratospheric flight
It stayed aloft for 312 days while circumnavigating the globe.
Steve Dent - 28 October 2020
Google parent Alphabet has revealed that one of its Loon balloons spent 312 days aloft, breaking its previous stratospheric flight record of 223 days, by a wide margin. It had quite a journey during that time, launching in Peurto Rico and heading to Peru, where it provided three months of test internet service. It then circumnavigated the entire globe, passing over the South Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific oceans, before being picked up in Baja, Mexico — some 10 months and 135,000 miles later.