Gallery: How Google Will Use High-Flying Balloons to Deliver Internet to the Hinterlands
Courtesy of Google01The Project Loon team prepared for launch in the pre-dawn frost near Lake Tekapo, New Zealand.
Courtesy of Google02Solar panels and insulated electronics packages, prepared for launch. It takes 4 hours for the solar panels to charge the battery during the day, and that power is sufficient to keep all the flight systems working 24 hours a day.
Courtesy of Google03A fully-inflated balloon envelope at Moffett Field, California. The balloons are 15m in diameter when fully inflated, but they do not inflate until they've reached float altitude in the stratosphere.
Courtesy of Google04Project Loon team members Paul Acosta and Peter Capraro placed red balloons near the launch site at sunrise. The balloons were used as a rough indicator of wind direction and speed just above ground level.
Courtesy of Google05Jordan Miceli prepares electronics for launch. The balloons need to be laid out in the direction of the wind prior to launch. They are placed on a tarp to protect them from gravel and other sharp objects on the ground.
Courtesy of Google06The team constantly monitors the balloons' positions during flight. During operation, the balloons are well above the path of commercial air traffic, and Project Loon engineers coordinate with air traffic control during balloon ascents and descents.
Courtesy of Google07Flight engineer Sameera Ponda readies the next balloon for deployment at the launch site in New Zealand. Thanks to the mission control system, she already knows where to expect the balloon to travel.
Courtesy of Google08Bill Rogers inflates the balloon envelope with helium. Each balloon requires 12 tanks of helium, the amount of which can be used to control how quickly the balloon ascends.
