San Francisco: Facebook Inc. said on Thursday it had completed a second test of an unmanned aircraft designed to some day beam internet access to remote parts of the planet, and unlike in the first test, the drone did not crash. It later said the drone had also crashed moments before landing and had suffered a damaged wing. The second test occurred on 22 May, Martin Luis Gomez, Facebook’s director of aeronautical platforms, said in a blog post. The aircraft flew for an hour and 46 minutes before landing near Yuma, Arizona, with only “a few minor, easily-repairable dings,” he said. Facebook engineers had added “spoilers” to the aircraft’s wings to increase drag and reduce lift during the landing approach, Gomez said.

Source: Mint June 30, 2017 03:30 UTC