Introducing the Latest Moonshot From Google[x]: Balloon-Powered Internet Access Project Loon
go to original June 19, 2013

Introducing the latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access. Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill in coverage gaps and bring people back online after disasters. (ProjectLoon)

Loon is a fantastic project from Google that aims to bring internet access to some of the most remote parts of the globe. How? With balloons! These balloons float through the stratosphere, above airplanes and the weather, and create a network that bounces signals back and forth between special antennas attached to buildings, themselves, and the global Internet on Earth.

What is Project Loon?

Many of us think of the Internet as a global community. But two-thirds of the world’s population does not yet have Internet access. Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters.

We believe it's possible to create a ring of balloons that fly around the globe on the stratospheric winds and provide Internet access to the earth below. Balloons present some really hard science problems, but we're excited about the progress so far. (ProjectLoon)

The Technology

Project Loon balloons float in the stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and the weather. They are carried around the Earth by winds and they can be steered by rising or descending to an altitude with winds moving in the desired direction. People connect to the balloon network using a special Internet antenna attached to their building. The signal bounces from balloon to balloon, then to the global Internet back on Earth.

Learn more

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