As two-thirds of the world’s population does not yet have internet access, google’s ‘project loon‘ – a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space – is designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, helping fill coverage gaps, and bringing people back online after natural disasters.
floating high in the stratosphere – twice as high as airplanes and the weather – the ‘project loon balloons’ 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 network using a special internet antenna attached to their building. the signal bounces from balloon to balloon, which then provides a connection back down on earth.
Introducing the Google Loon Project.
The Loon Technology
Project Loon balloons travel approximately 20 km above the Earth’s surface in the stratosphere.
Winds in the stratosphere are stratified, and each layer of wind varies in speed and direction. Project Loon uses software algorithms to determine where its balloons need to go, then moves each one into a layer of wind blowing in the right direction. By moving with the wind, the balloons can be arranged to form one large communications network.
The inflatable part of the balloon is called a balloon envelope. A well-made balloon envelope is critical for allowing a balloon to last around 100 days in the stratosphere. Loon’s balloon envelopes are made from sheets of polyethylene plastic, and they measure fifteen meters wide by twelve meters tall when fully inflated. When a balloon is ready to be taken out of service, gas is released from the envelope to bring the balloon down to Earth in a controlled descent. In the unlikely event that a balloon drops too quickly, a parachute attached to the top of the envelope is deployed.
HOW LOON CONNECTS
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