The tests aim to develop a long-flight drone that can stay aloft for extended periods to deliver connectivity to remote areas of the world, according to a report in The Guardian.
According to the news site, Google built several prototype transceivers at the spaceport last summer and is testing them with multiple drones, according to documents obtained under public records laws. The company is using 15,000 square feet of vacant Virgin Galactic hangar space and has constructed an operations center at the facility.
The effort is part of a secretive project codenamed SkyBender, The Guardian reported.
Based out of the spaceport north of Las Cruces in Sierra County, Project SkyBender is using drones to experiment with millimeter-wave radio transmissions, one of the technologies that could underpin next generation 5G wireless Internet access.
©2016 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
