'Project Loon', sometimes seen in the news, is related to
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) wireless communication technology
Project Loon, begun at Google X and later an Alphabet company, used large balloons drifting in the stratosphere as floating relay stations to beam internet connectivity to rural, remote and underserved areas. It is therefore a wireless communication technology; the balloons' solar panels only powered the equipment on board.
- ✓ (b) Each balloon carried radio equipment that linked with ground stations and other balloons to deliver internet (including LTE) service to people below.
- ✗ (c) The balloons did carry solar panels, but only to run their own electronics; generating solar power was not the project's purpose.
- ✗ (a) Loon had nothing to do with handling waste; its aim was internet access.
- • Since then Alphabet wound Loon down in 2021; some of its technology lives on in Taara, which uses light beams for connectivity (X, the Moonshot Factory).
Remember · Project Loon: stratospheric balloons as flying cell towers for internet in remote areas (Google X, 2013; shut in 2021).
Sources
- World Bank, Innovative Business Models for Expanding Fiber-Optic Networks and Closing the Access Gaps (2018), Box 5.13: Project Loon ↗ “Project Loon is a research and development project being developed by Google X with the mission of providing Internet access to rural and remote areas. The proposed solution is to use a series of balloons that act like mobile towers.”
- X, the Moonshot Factory: Loon ↗ · reference work “After nine years of groundbreaking technical achievements, Loon wound down, but its technological legacy lives on. … Solar panels powered the communications equipment during the day and charged onboard batteries for nighttime operation.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·