Here’s how Google makes its giant, internet-beaming balloons
Google Project Loon
Google X, the secretive moonshot lab run under Google's parent company Alphabet, wants to make the internet accessible for everyone.
That's why Google has been refining its giant, internet-beaming balloons since 2013 as part of its Project Loon. But to make that vision a reality, Google has gotten some outside help from Raven Aerostar, a hot air balloon manufacturer, to help create the balloons.
Scroll down to see how Google makes its Project Loon balloons.
The goal of Project Loon is to use a network of solar-powered balloons to beam broadband to areas without internet access.
The balloons fly high in the stratosphere at about 60,000 to 90,000 feet above Earth. That's two to three times as high as most commercial airplanes.
Raven Aerostar creates a special outer shell for the balloons, called the film, that can hold a lot of pressure — allowing the balloons to float in the stratosphere for longer.
The Verge/Google XThe film is as thin as a typical sandwich bag.
"It's one of the most critical components of a balloon," Scott Wickersham, general manager at Raven Aerostar, told Tech Insider. "The film is what holds the helium in there. And if you put too much pressure or if the film isn't strong enough, the balloon will burst."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider