Federal authorities recovered an internet balloon after it crashed Sunday afternoon in Jonacatepec, Morelos.
The balloon was part of Project Loon, an initiative by Alphabet Inc., owner of the technology company Google, to provide high quality internet access to rural and remote populations and areas affected by natural disasters.
It does so with high-flying networked balloons that are linked to an internet service provider on Earth.
It earned the name Project Loon because early reports of the venture called it “unprecedented and loony.”
The balloon that came down Sunday was launched in Puerto Rico on November 8 and remained airborne for 87 days before the crash.
Federal, state and local authorities responded to the crash and secured the area. An instruction booklet and contact information was found among the wreckage, which authorities used to contact the Alphabet subsidiary Loon LLC . Company employees soon arrived on the scene.
The crash in Morelos was the first to be witnessed publicly. According to Google, the Project Loon balloons have flown all over the world for millions of kilometers. The company claims to be on the cusp of securing continuous internet connections for some rural areas with its balloon network.
Source: El Financiero (sp), La Razón (sp)
