L-Ne · Historical Source Library

News Source Record

# News Source Record

**L-Ne / Open-source news extract** — Original media coverage of unmanned aerial systems.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection date | 25 September 2014 |
| Platform | Quiet Systems |
| Data label | Open-source news record // LRRK collection product |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. |
| Scale | Global |
| Language | English |
| Terms matched | drones; unmanned aircraft; drone |

## Bibliographic

| Field | Value |
| Outlet | BBC Newsbeat |
| Title | Facebook developing giant drones to 'fly for months' |
| Dateline | 25 September 2014 — Anna Doble, Newsbeat online editor |
| First publisher | yes |
| Original URL | https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-29364362 |
| Archive URL | — |
| Dedup key | 2014-09-25|bbc-newsbeat|facebook-connectivity-lab-747-size |
| Source grade | B1 |

## Record

**Verified extract — [Fact — B1]** Newsbeat reported Facebook Connectivity Lab engineering director Yael Maguire at the 2014 Social Good Summit in New York describing unmanned planes roughly the size of a commercial aircraft, like a 747, as connectivity hubs that could stay up for months or years. Maguire said they must fly above the weather, above all airspace at 60,000-90,000 feet. One model was about six or seven Priuses long but the weight of four Prius tires, solar-powered. U.S. tests could come the next year, slowed by unmanned-aircraft rules. Facebook said expanding access could create 140 million jobs, lift 160 million people from poverty and reduce child mortality. The page noted Google X delivery vehicles, Google balloons, DHL island delivery and Amazon octocopters.

**Kinematic object.** Solar high-altitude unmanned aircraft, 747-class wingspan, Prius-scale length, very low weight, 60-90,000 ft.

**Coverage frame.** industry

## Source integrity

- Why this is treated as an original: BBC Newsbeat original of Maguire's summit remarks, with named quotes.
- Wire reprint status: Not a wire reprint.
- What was excluded: 2015 Aquila hardware reveal.

## LRRK relevance

Sense-Move-Act / Lab. Stratospheric persistent UAS proposed as communications infrastructure.

*LRRK — security assurance for systems that sense, move, and act.*

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