Facebook's massive solar-powered drone takes its first flight

Facebook has flown its full-sized solar-powered airplane for the first time, after years of anticipation.

The large drone — named Aquila — had a successful test flight and ended up remaining in the sky for 90 minutes, which Facebook said was three-times longer than planned. 

Aquila was announced at the F8 conference in March 2015, and although flights have happened on smaller models of the drone this is the first test of the full-sized version. Its main purpose, the company said, is to provide internet to the 4 billion people in the world that don't have access.

The drone has a wingspan comparable to a Boeing 737 and the finished product will need to fly at altitudes of between 60,000 to 90,000 for a period of three months.  Read more...

More about Drones, Tech, Facebook, and Dev Design