In 2013, Google launched a large-scale project aimed at spreading uninterrupted Internet across the globe. And hot air balloon flights were to play a leading role here. Numerous stratostats have sought to provide reliable communication to users around the world.

The priority project was named Google Loon. The bullets involved in it reached a diameter of 15 meters and rose by about 20 kilometers. At this altitude, airflows are usually predictable and do not pose a serious threat to the stratostat. The Google Loon project planned to use only solar energy as a power source.

Each balloon was equipped with a radio transmitter to "emit" the Internet. Spherical hulls were well provided for communication with other Internet transmitters and conventional stations.

Later, Loon came out of the control of Google, becoming an independent unit within the Alphabet.

Not so long ago, the Kenyan government allowed Loon to deploy a network of stratostats and build the necessary infrastructure. So the local authorities decided to provide the whole country with free high-speed internet and high-quality mobile communication. Local telecom operator Telkom Kenya also joined in funding the project.

There will be a large-scale communication network deployed over a huge area. It is designed not only to provide communication and the Internet, but also for the stable operation of relevant services in the event of natural disasters, catastrophes or wars.

The coverage area provided by a separate hot air balloon flight is approximately 40,000 square kilometers. It is worth noting that Loon stratostats do not distribute their own Internet, but relay the LTE signal. So, with any Internet source, the technology used in Loon allows you to provide Wi-Fi in the area covered by the stratostats involved. This technology is considered a tool to cover the entire Earth's Internet.

The reliability of Loon is evidenced by the fact that one of the stratostats broke the world record by spending 223 days in flight.