Facebook in talks to buy solar-powered drone maker Titan

According to recent reports from TechCrunch, Facebook is in talks to purchase Titan Aerospace, a company that makes solar-powered drones that can apparently stay up in the skies for up to five years at a time. The private company with research and development facilities in New Mexico, unveiled its Solara 50 and Solara 60 unmanned aerial vehicles last year, marketing them as extremely cheap alternatives to satellites.

The acquisition would further the efforts of Internet.org, a coalition of mobile technology companies spearheaded by Facebook that is working to bring Internet access to the 5 billion or so people around the world without it. The acquisition is valued at $60 million, a source familiar with the matter said.

Facebook is interested in dispatching some 11,000 unmanned aerial vehicles over parts of the globe that lack Internet access, beginning in Africa. The company is said to be especially interested in the Solara 60, a featherweight aircraft built of composite materials that Titan Aerospace claims can maintain an altitude of 65,000 feet for years without refueling, thanks to thousands of solar cells blanketing the aircraft.

If Facebook does follow through on this acquisition it would put them into direct competition with Google's own 'Project Loon', a similar initiative that aims to provide internet via a network of high-altitude weather balloons.

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