Google Looks to Test Airborne Communications Tech at Spaceport America

An interesting report about Google’s plan to conduct some test at Spaceport America:

Google plans to test secret airborne communications technology at the New Mexico “spaceport” facility where space tourism and exploration companies Virgin Galactic and SpaceX have set up shop, as well as an Indian reservation in Oregon.

Google wants to test a radio technology that involves aircraft hovering 25,000 feet in the air and several terrestrial stations located at Spaceport America, a facility funded by the state of New Mexico that hopes to be the center of the nascent space tourism industry, according to recently filed documents with the Federal Communications Commission.

Google also requested authority to test the technology at an Indian reservation in Warm Springs, Oregon, and in Pescadero, California, according to the documents. The filings were submitted in the summer, before Google restructured into the Alphabet holding company, which creates independent companies out of various Google groups.

The filings represent the latest evidence of Google and parent-company Alphabet’s expanding efforts to take to the skies, as it looks to blanket the globe with its web services. The company is working on several air and space-based projects, including Loon, which uses air balloons to beam internet access down to earth, Project Titan, which uses drones to deliver internet access and Project Wing, which involves drones delivering packages.