One year after Google announced Project Loon, a shorthand for "Balloon" and possibly the adjective that describes far-fetched ideas, Wired's Steven Levy spoke with Google about its plan to bring internet to two-thirds of the world's population—the total number of internet deficient as of 2014. "On Loon's two-year birthday, I would hope, instead of running experiments, we'll have a more or less permanent set of balloons," says Google X's Astro Teller. "In one or several countries, you will turn on your phone and talk to the balloons."
Project Loon began its pilot program in June last year launching 30 balloons from New Zealand. Now, that number is growing. These stats and digits illustrate how Google's balloon dreams are taking flight.
10: The factor by which Project Loon has improved over the past year. In Wired's report, Teller says "The balloons are delivering 10x more bandwidth, 10x steer-ability, and are staying up 10x as long. That's the kind of progress that can only happen a few more times until we're in a problematically good place."
65,000: Approximate altitude, in feet, where Google's balloons reside in the atmosphere.
22: Speed in megabytes per second that balloons can transmit internet to an antenna on the ground. This speed drops to 5 MB/s when using a smartphone.
40: Diameter in kilometers (it's about 25 miles) of the area one balloon can blanket with internet service. Google uses 2.5 or 5.8 GHz ISM bands for connectivity.
75: Number of days balloons can stay in the sky, far outpacing its original three-week estimates. Wired says Google achieved this jump in efficiency by upgrading the altitude control system. Google's Mike Cassiday says the new goal is to reach triple digits.
1,500,000: Kilometers that Project Loon has traveled since its first launch in New Zealand.
300-400: Number of balloons Google hopes will eventually circle the globe. These unmanned aircraft (the specific designation is up for debate) will offer continuous service to users in previously disconnected areas.
.0030: Thinness in inches of the superpressure, helium-filled balloons. Raven Aerostar, creators of many lighter-than-air aircrafts, partnered with Google to make these thin envelopes.
-40: Degrees Celsius at which Google engineers tested materials during this past winter's polar vortex.