Google is reportedly testing a new 5G internet connectivity program called Project Skybender. The project involves solar drones that use millimeter radio waves to allow the transmission of gigabits of data. These solar-powered drones are getting tested at the New Mexico Spaceport Center, where the search giant had built several prototype transceivers at the isolated spaceport last summer, and is testing them with multiple drones, according to documents obtained under public records laws.
Under this secretive project, solar drones stay afloat for long periods of time and use millimeter radio waves to transmit gigabits of data – which is potentially up to 40 times more than today’s 4G LTE systems. Google is temporarily using 15,000 square feet of hangar space in the glamorous Gateway to Space terminal designed by Norman Foster for the much-delayed Virgin Galactic spaceflights to house the drones and support aircraft. It has also installed its own dedicated flight control centre in the nearby Spaceflight Operations Center, separate from the terminal.
The millimetre wave transmissions have a much shorter range than mobile phone signals. A broadcast at 28 GHz, the frequency Google is testing at Spaceport America, would fade out in around a tenth the distance of a 4G phone signal. To get millimetre wave working from a high-flying drone, Google needs to experiment with focused transmissions from a so-called phased array – which seems tough, very complex and burns a lot of power.
The drawback with millimeter waves is their limited range. The shorter the wavelength, the shorter the transmission range, and in this case it could limit the spread to 32 miles (10 meters). This loss can be overcome with good receiver sensitivity, high transmit power, and high antenna gains. Another drawback is atmosphere, such as ran, fog and any moisture in the air, which can absorb millimeter waves and restrict their range. High-gain antennas are another solution.
Other organizations have already explored the millimeter wave technology. DARPA, the researcher of the US military, began a program called Mobile Hotspots in 2014, designed to provide one gigabit per second internet communications for troops operating in remote areas.
Google is paying Virgin Galactic $1,000 a day for the use of a hangar in the Gateway to Space building, but had to split its SkyBender tests into two separate flight campaigns to ease Virgin Galactic concerns. An unnamed Virgin Galactic executive emailed Christine Anderson, chief executive officer of Spaceport America before the tests to say: “We will be arranging numerous activities around these occupancy periods, which would be impacted if there was any [timing changes].” Google also had to promise not to take any photographs inside the building.
Anderson expects Virgin Galactic to unveil its new SpaceShipTwo at the Spaceport in February, and to begin flights there in 2018.
Soruce: The Guardian - Click here to read the story.
