Facebook is reportedly in discussions to purchase the startup firm Titan Aerospace,pioneer of the atmosat(TM)drone concept,for 60 million dollars-possibly for the sole purpose of furthering Facebook's Internet.org project.Both companies declined to comment on the talks.*
The Titan drones have potential for multiple other highly beneficial applications,such as asset tracking;maritime traffic monitoring;cosmic radiation and magnetosphere studies;meteorology;oilspill mapping;power line monitoring;crop monitoring;global positioning;search and rescue;fire and floodplain monitoring.Under the reported scenario,Titan's production line would be totally consumed by Facebook's Internet access project,which aims to provide affordable Internet access to five billion people in developing countries.*
Two of the Titan Aerospace models,the Solara 50 and 60,can ascend to a height of over 65,000 feet and stay continuously aloft for five years on solar power,which is provided by panels on their wings and tails.This is zero emission,near-orbital flight at a fraction of the cost of a rocket-launched satellite,and is above the 60,000 foot height of FAA-regulated commercial airspace.
In sum,instead of diversifying its business with the range of drone applications Titan is capable of,Facebook may be focusing the entire acquisition on one communications application.True,it's only 60 million dollars,but the potential return on the atmosat technology would be whittled down for the forseeable future.Perhaps other firms will be making higher bids for the versatile atmosat.
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