Loon LLC

In 2008, Google considered contracting with or acquiring Space Data Corp.,{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/the-lawsuit-that-could-pop-alphabets-project-loon-balloons|title=A Lawsuit Has Alphabet's Project Loon In Jeopardy {{!}} Backchannel|magazine=WIRED|access-date=2017-09-27}} a company that sends balloons carrying small base stations about {{convert|20|mi|km|abbr=on}} up in the air for providing connectivity to truckers and oil companies in the southern United States, but did not do so.{{cite web|last=Sharma|first=Amol|title=Floating a New Idea For Going Wireless, Parachute Included|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120347353988378955|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080223105103/http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120347353988378955.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 23, 2008|date=February 20, 2008|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=June 16, 2013|df=mdy-all}}

Unofficial development on the project began in 2011 under incubation in Google X with a series of trial runs in California's Central Valley. The project was officially announced as a Google project on June 14, 2013.

On June 16, 2013, Google launched about 30 balloons in New Zealand in coordination with the country's Civil Aviation Authority from the Tekapo area in the South Island. About 50 local users in and around Christchurch and the Canterbury region tested connections to the aerial network using special antennas. After this initial trial, Google planned on sending up 300 balloons around the world at the 40th parallel south that would provide coverage to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, and Argentina. Google hoped to eventually have thousands of balloons flying in the stratosphere.

The first person to connect and receive Internet access from one of the Loon balloons was Charles Nimmo, a farmer and entrepreneur in Leeston, New Zealand. Nimmo was one of 50 people in the area around Christchurch who agreed to be a pilot tester for Loon. The New Zealand farmer lived in a rural location that was unable to get broadband access to the Internet. The town's residents used a satellite Internet service in 2009, but found that the service could incur costs of up to $1000 per month.

Locals participating in the testing were not made aware of the details, other than that it had potential ability to deliver Internet connectivity, but allowed project workers to attach a basketball-sized receiver resembling a giant bright-red party balloon to an outside wall of their property in order to connect to the network.

The technology designed in the project could allow countries to avoid using expensive fiber cable that would have to be installed underground to allow users to connect to the Internet. Alphabet felt this would greatly increase Internet usage in developing countries in regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia that can not afford to lay underground fiber cable.{{cite news|title=Google launches Internet-beaming balloons|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/google-begins-launching-internet-beaming-balloons|author=Perry, Nick|author2=Mendoza, Martha|date=June 15, 2013|agency=Associated Press|access-date=June 17, 2013|archive-date=June 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618165212/http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/google-begins-launching-internet-beaming-balloons|url-status=dead}}

In May 2014, Google X laboratories director Eric "Astro" Teller announced that, rather than negotiate a section of bandwidth that was free for them worldwide, they would instead become a temporary base station that could be leased by the mobile operators of the country it was crossing over. This was based on work done by the Access Field Development Director, Kai Wulff, who was involved in fiber and broadband roll-outs in Emerging Markets from the early 2000s.

In May and June of 2014, Google tested its balloon-powered Internet access venture in Piauí, Brazil, marking its first LTE experiments and launch near the equator.{{Cite web|url=https://thenextweb.com/news/google-celebrates-project-loons-birthday-first-lte-experiments-launch-near-equator|title=Google Marks Project Loon Birthday with First LTE Experiments|first=Nick|last=Summers|date=June 16, 2014|website=TNW | Google}}

In 2014, Google partnered with France's Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) on the project.{{cite news |url=http://aviationweek.com/space/google-france-partner-balloon-powered-internet |title=Google, France Partner on Balloon-Powered Internet |work=Aviation Week & Space Technology |first=Amy |last=Svitak |date=December 12, 2014 |access-date=December 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214160826/http://aviationweek.com/space/google-france-partner-balloon-powered-internet |archive-date=December 14, 2014 |url-status=live}}

On July 28, 2015, Google signed an agreement with officials of Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) – Sri Lanka, to launch the technology on a mass scale.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/google-project-loon-provide-free-wifi-across-sri-lanka-1513136|title=Google Project Loon to provide free Internet across Sri Lanka|date=July 29, 2015|website=International Business Times UK}} As a result, by March 2016, Sri Lanka will be the second country in the world to get full coverage of Internet using LTE, after Vatican City.{{needs update|date=June 2024}}

In February 2016, Google announced it had achieved a stable laser communication connection between two balloons over a distance of 62 miles (100 km). The connection was stable over many hours during both day and nighttime, reaching a data rate of 155 Mbit/s.{{cite magazine |title=Google Laser-Beams the Film Real Genius 60 Miles Between Balloons |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/02/google-shot-laser-60-miles-just-send-copy-real-genius/ |magazine=WIRED|date=February 24, 2016}}

On February 25, 2016, Google started testing their autolauncher, named "Chicken Little", at former naval station Roosevelt Roads in Ceiba, Puerto Rico.{{cite web|title=Project Loon shows off autolauncher at work in Puerto Rico|date=February 26, 2016 |url=https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/26/project-loon-autolauncher-peurto-rico/|publisher=Engadget}}

In May 2017, Space Data started proceedings for patent infringement. Google settled the case in July 2019.{{cite web|title=Google Settles Balloon IP Suit Ahead Of Trial|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1183150|publisher=Law 360}}

On October 6, 2017, Google filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and cleared it the same day, with authorization to start immediately to provide emergency LTE coverage to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The plan allowed 30 balloons to relay communication between ground terminals connected to people's handsets. Google would have to install over-the-air (OTA) updates to allow Band 8 (900 MHz) operations and at the end of the authorization, a separate OTA update would disable this operation. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced at a press conference on October 8, 2017, the launch of Google's Loon Project on the Caribbean island, following its approval by the FCC.

On October 9, 2017, multiple balloons were spotted near Puerto Rico via Flightradar24.{{Cite tweet |user=DrSalted |number=917498260293550087 |date = 9 October 2017 |title=.@Google 's parent company Alphabet gets FCC approval to fly 30 Project Loon balloons over Puerto Rico & provide LTE coverage. Google's balloons can be tracked via their ADS-B transponders on websites such as @flightradar24 https://www.flightradar24.com/multiview/f252d5c,f229cff,f2599b6,f25bf29,f25fb17,f26d9de … #GOOGL #PuertoRico #HuracanMaria }} That same month, it was reported that the project had spun off into its own company, Loon Inc; however, it was clarified that it still remained as a project at X, until July 2018.{{Cite web | url=https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/13/alphabet-loon-inc-internet-balloons/ | title=Alphabet may have spun out Project Loon into its own company (update: Alphabet responds)| date=October 13, 2017}} On November 9, 2017, it was reported that Google had launched several balloons from Nevada and positioned them over Puerto Rico as part of an effort to bring 100,000 people online.{{cite magazine|title=Project Loon Launches Balloons|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/news/a28990/project-loon-internet-balloons-puerto-rico/|magazine=Popular Mechanics|access-date=18 January 2018|date=November 10, 2017}}

On July 11, 2018, X, Google's R&D facility, announced that Loon was "graduating", becoming an Alphabet subsidiary in its own right rather than a project of X.{{cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/story/alphabet-google-x-innovation-loon-wing-graduation/|date=July 11, 2018|access-date=July 19, 2018|title=INSIDE X, THE MOONSHOT FACTORY RACING TO BUILD THE NEXT GOOGLE|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717085500/https://www.wired.com/story/alphabet-google-x-innovation-loon-wing-graduation/|archive-date=July 17, 2018}} As part of its first commercial agreement with Telkom Kenya, Loon pledged to bring Internet access to some of Kenya's most inaccessible regions,{{cite web |title=Google's balloons to deliver net to Kenya |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44886803 |website=BBC News |access-date=21 July 2018 |date=19 July 2018}} to be live in 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/20/googles-loon-to-bring-4g-to-remote-areas-of-kenya--via-balloon.html|title=Google's Loon to bring 4G to remote areas of Kenya – via balloon|last=Crabtree|first=Justina|date=2018-07-20|website=www.cnbc.com|access-date=2018-12-05}}

On April 26, 2019, Loon formed a partnership with and received funding from Softbank.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/24/alphabet-spinout-loon-grabs-125m-from-softbank/|title=Internet connectivity projects unite as Alphabet spinout Loon grabs $125M from SoftBank's HAPSMobile|website=TechCrunch|date=April 25, 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-26}}

On July 23, 2019, Loon announced that its balloon fleet had collectively reached one million hours of stratospheric flight. In an article on the Medium website, Loon's CTO Sal Candido explained some of the navigational techniques the autonomous balloons employed, such as tacking, loitering, and figure 8s, to deliver Internet service in the most efficient way possible.{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/loon-for-all/1-million-hours-of-stratospheric-flight-f7af7ae728ac|title=1 Million Hours of Stratospheric Flight|last=Candido|first=Salvatore|date=2019-07-23|website=Medium|language=en|access-date=2019-09-13}}

In October 2020, atmospheric scientists Pedram Hassanzadeh (Rice University), Aditi Sheshadri (Stanford University), Edwin Gerber (New York University) and M. Joan Alexander (NorthWest Research Associates) received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation to use high-resolution data collected by the Loon balloons intended to examine gravity waves in the stratosphere to improve climate and weather modeling.{{Cite web|title=Literal rise of the internet enables new climate science|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-10/ru-lro101220.php|access-date=2021-06-28|website=EurekAlert!|language=en}}

On October 28, 2020, Loon claimed a record duration flight of 312 days for a balloon (HBAL703) launched from Puerto Rico in May 2019 which landed in Baja, Mexico in March 2020.{{cite web |last1=Candido |first1=Salvatore |title=312 Days in the Stratosphere |url=https://medium.com/loon-for-all/312-days-in-the-stratosphere-5c50bd233ec5 |website=Medium |access-date=29 October 2020}}

On January 21, 2021, it was announced that Loon would be shut down.{{Cite web|last=Peters|first=Jay|date=2021-01-21|title=Alphabet is shutting down Loon, its internet balloon company|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/21/22243484/alphabet-google-shutting-down-loon-internet-balloon-company-x|access-date=2021-01-22|website=The Verge|language=en}} In his announcement, Teller said "Sadly, despite the team's groundbreaking technical achievements over the last 9 years […] the road to commercial viability has proven much longer and riskier than hoped."{{Cite web|last=Teller|first=Astro|date=2021-01-22|title=Loon's final flight|url=https://blog.x.company/loons-final-flight-e9d699123a96|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122020301/https://blog.x.company/loons-final-flight-e9d699123a96|archive-date=2021-01-22|access-date=2021-01-22|website=X blog|language=en}} A Wired article about the shutdown noted that Internet availability in areas the project intended to target had increased from 75% to 93% in the last 10 years, with most of the population in remaining areas unable to afford a 4G phone.{{Cite magazine|title=Exclusive: Alphabet Is Grounding Loon—but Won't Call It a Failure|language=en-us|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-alphabet-pops-loons-balloons/|access-date=2021-01-26|issn=1059-1028}} Its pilot service in Kenya would be shut down in March 2021 but the company said it would pledge $10 million to support nonprofits and businesses in Kenya dedicated to "connectivity, Internet, entrepreneurship and education."

The system aimed to bring Internet access to remote and rural areas poorly served by existing provisions, and to improve communication during natural disasters to affected regions.{{cite web|last=Mack|first=Eric|title=Meet Google's 'Project Loon:' Balloon-powered 'net access|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57589464-1/meet-googles-project-loon-balloon-powered-net-access/|work=CNET|access-date=June 15, 2013|date=June 14, 2013}}{{cite web|last=Brodkin|first=Jon|title=Google flies Internet balloons in stratosphere for a "network in the sky"|url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/06/google-flies-internet-balloons-in-stratosphere-for-a-network-in-the-sky/|date=June 14, 2013|work=ArsTechnica|access-date=June 15, 2013}}

File:Loon signal propagation (in English,ver.2).jpgThe balloons used patch antennas—which are directional antennas—to transmit signals to ground stations or LTE users. Some smartphones with Google SIM cards could use Google Internet services. The infrastructure was based on LTE; the eNodeB component (the equivalent of the "base station" that talks directly to handsets) was carried in the balloon.

Initially, the balloons communicated using unlicensed 2.4 and 5.8 GHz ISM bands,{{cite web|title=How Loon Works|url=https://www.google.com/loon/how/|work=Google|access-date=June 16, 2013}} and Google claimed that the setup allowed it to deliver "speeds comparable to 3G" to users, but they then switched to LTE{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOndhtfIXSY|title=- YouTube|website=www.youtube.com}} with cellular spectrum by cooperating with local telecommunication operators.{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/loon/how/|title=Loon - X, the moonshot factory|website=X, the moonshot factory}} It is unclear how technologies that rely on short communications times (low latency pings), such as VoIP, might need to be modified to work in an environment similar to mobile phones where the signal may have to relay through multiple balloons before reaching the wider Internet.{{cite web|last=Hodson|first=Hal|title=Google's Project Loon to float the internet on balloons|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23721-googles-project-loon-to-float-the-internet-on-balloons.html|work=New Scientist|date=June 18, 2013|access-date=June 20, 2013}}{{cite journal|last=Misra|first=Archan|author2=Das, Subir |author3=McAuley, Anthony J. |title=Hierarchical Mobility Management for VoIP Traffic|year=2001|url=http://researchweb.watson.ibm.com/people/a/archan/milcom2001b.pdf|access-date=October 17, 2013}} Google also experimented with laser communication technology to interconnect balloons at high altitude and achieved a data rate of 155 Mbit/s over a distance of {{Convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}}.

Loon deployed its high-altitude balloon network into the stratosphere, at altitudes between 18 km and 25 km. The company stated that this particular altitude layer of the stratosphere is advantageous because of its low wind speeds, which are usually recorded between 5 mph and 20 mph (10 km/h to 30 km/h). The layer is also an area of minimal turbulence. The company said it was able to model the seasonal, longitudinal and latitudinal wind speed variations, allowing them to adjust the placements of their balloons.{{Cite web|url=https://xedknowledge.com/Coverstory_Demo.aspx?id=qJZ85UM6v6RmN6IFBF+t1Q==

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212081440/https://xedknowledge.com/Coverstory_Demo.aspx?id=qJZ85UM6v6RmN6IFBF+t1Q==

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|archive-date=2020-12-12

|title=Project Loon|website=Xed Knowledge|date=Feb 2017}}

Loon claimed it could control the latitudinal and longitudinal position of its high-altitude balloons by changing their altitude. They did this by adjusting the volume and density of internal gas (which is composed of either helium, hydrogen or another lighter-than-air substance), which allowed the balloon's variable buoyancy system to control the altitude. Additionally, Google had indicated that the balloons were possibly constructed from materials like metalized Mylar, BoPET, or a highly flexible latex or rubber material such as chloroprene.

The balloon envelopes used in the project were designed and made by Raven Aerostar,{{cite web|title=Project Loon: Raven Aerostar - Google Collaboration|url=http://ravenaerostar.com/about/project-loon-raven-aerostar-google|work=Raven Aerostar|access-date=June 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617063829/http://ravenaerostar.com/about/project-loon-raven-aerostar-google|archive-date=June 17, 2013|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} and were based on the Raven Aerostar Super Pressure Balloon.{{cite web |url=https://ravenaerostar.com/about/loon |title=Loon - Raven Aerostar |website=ravenaerostar.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204202837/https://ravenaerostar.com/about/loon |archive-date=2019-12-04}} The balloons were composed of polyethylene plastic about {{convert|0.076|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick. The balloons were superpressure balloons filled with helium, standing {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=on}} across and {{convert|12|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall when fully inflated. They carried a custom air pump system dubbed the "Croce"{{cite web|last=Gartner|first=Keegan|title=Ask Away: How do the balloons move up and down?|url=https://plus.google.com/+ProjectLoon/videos|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007120826/https://plus.google.com/+ProjectLoon/videos|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2013|publisher=Google Project Loon|access-date=October 18, 2013|author2=Ratner, Dan |date=August 14, 2013|quote=58s into video: We call this air control system "Croce" because our co-worker lead saw the shape of our impeller housing was bottle shaped and started singing "Time in a Bottle" [by] Jim Croce}} that pumped in or released air to ballast the balloon and control its altitude. A small box weighing {{convert|10|kg|lb|abbr=on}} containing each balloon's electronic equipment hung underneath the inflated envelope. This box contained circuit boards that controlled the system, radio antennas and a Ubiquiti Networks 'Rocket M2' to communicate with other balloons and with Internet antennas on the ground, and batteries to store solar power so the balloons could operate during the night. Each balloon's electronics were powered by an array of solar panels that sat between the envelope and the hardware. In full sun, the panels produced 100 watts of power, which was sufficient to keep the unit running while also charging a battery for use at night. A parachute, called Raven Aerostar Payload Recovery Parachute, was attached to the top of the envelope to allow for a controlled descent, landing and payload recovery when a balloon was ready to be taken out of service. In the case of an unexpected failure, the parachute deploys automatically.{{cite web|last=Kelion|first=Leo|title=Google tests balloons to beam internet from near space|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22905199|work=BBC News|date=June 15, 2013|access-date=June 21, 2013}} When taken out of service, the balloon was guided to an easily reached location, and the helium was vented into the atmosphere. The balloons typically had a maximum life of about 100 days, although Google claimed that its tweaked design could have enabled them to stay aloft for closer to 200 days.{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/03/google-balloons-cell-towers-in-the-sky-can-serve-4g-to-a-whole-state/ |title=Google balloons, "cell towers in the sky," can serve 4G to a whole state |work=Ars Technica |date= March 11, 2015 |author=Jon Brodkin |access-date= March 11, 2015}}

The balloons were equipped with ADS-B transponders and thus could be publicly tracked by searching for the call sign "HBAL".{{Cite web|url=https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/keep-your-eye-on-the-hbal-tracking-project-loon-balloons/|title=Keep Your Eye on the HBAL—Tracking Project Loon Balloons|date=April 9, 2016}}

The prototype ground stations used a Ubiquiti Networks 'Rocket M5'{{cite web|author=smweir|title=Re: Internet for all|url=http://community.ubnt.com/t5/The-Lounge/Internet-for-all/m-p/491445#M24270|publisher=Ubiquiti Networks Community Forum|quote=I've just been down to talk to the folks from Google, who are here in Christchurch, New Zealand, launching their pilot for Loon. One engineer told me "we use the Ubiquiti Rocket M2 for transceiving, and the M5 for groundstation uplink". He described the downwards-pointing antenna on the ballon, which sounded to me like a UniFi polar map, but on a bigger scale. They have modified the firmware to only work with other modified firmware Rockets.}} radio and a custom patch antenna{{cite web|last=Behroozi|first=Cyrus|title=Ask Away: What's inside the Loon antenna?|url=https://plus.google.com/+ProjectLoon/videos|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007120826/https://plus.google.com/+ProjectLoon/videos|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 7, 2013|publisher=Google Project Loon|access-date=October 18, 2013}} to connect to the balloons at a height of {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=on}}. Some reports called Google's project the Google Balloon Internet.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/googles-ambitious-internet-balloons-soar-above-new-zealand/|title=Google's ambitious Internet balloons soar above New Zealand|date=June 15, 2013 |publisher=CBS News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=June 18, 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/google-begins-launching-internet-beaming-balloons-6C10331940|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615185152/http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/google-begins-launching-internet-beaming-balloons-6C10331940|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 15, 2013|title=Google begins launching Internet-beaming balloons|author=Mendoza, Martha|author2=Perry, Nick |date=June 15, 2013|agency=Associated Press|publisher=NBCNews|access-date=June 18, 2013}}

Key people involved in the project included Rich DeVaul, chief technical architect, who is also an expert on wearable technology; Mike Cassidy, a project leader; and Cyrus Behroozi, a networking and telecommunication lead.

Some of the technology and methods developed by Loon LLC live on as telecommunications infrastructure in Africa.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Taara - X, the moonshot factory|url=https://x.company/projects/taara/|access-date=2021-01-22|website=X, the moonshot factory|language=en|quote=A potential solution to this problem arose during work on Project Loon. The Loon team needed to figure out a way to create a data link between balloons that were flying over 100 km apart. The team investigated the use of wireless optical communication technology to establish high-throughput links between balloons.}} Project Taara, which started its pan-African rollout in Kenya, continues to provide reliable high-speed Internet to the unconnected and under-connected.{{Cite web|last=Mbamalu|first=Socrates|title=Google's ambitious Loon internet balloon project has crash-landed|url=https://qz.com/africa/1961328/why-googles-loon-internet-balloon-project-crash-landed/|access-date=2021-01-25|website=Quartz Africa|date=January 22, 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Kazeem|first=Yomi|title=Google is working on delivering super-fast internet in Africa with experimental light beams|url=https://qz.com/africa/1931111/googles-project-taara-to-deliver-fast-speed-internet-to-africans/|access-date=2021-01-25|website=Quartz Africa|date=November 10, 2020 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Taara - X, the moonshot factory|url=https://x.company/projects/taara/|access-date=2021-01-25|website=X, the moonshot factory|language=en}} It is also serving as of 2021 to bridge a "particularly stubborn connectivity gap" of {{convert|3.0|mile|km }} between Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, across the Congo River. It was wryly noted that while there are many, many areas worldwide with clear climates which could be served by this technology, foggy San Francisco would not be an ideal location.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58583600|title=High-speed internet via airborne beams of light|work=BBC News|date=September 17, 2021}}

• On May 29, 2014, a Loon balloon crashed into power lines in Washington, United States.{{cite web|last1=Lardinois|first1=Frederic|title=One of Google's Project Loon balloons crashed into power lines in Washington state|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/03/one-of-googles-project-loon-balloons-crashed-into-power-lines-in-washington-state/|website=TechCrunch|date=June 3, 2014 |publisher=AOL Inc.|access-date=November 15, 2014}}
• On June 20, 2014, New Zealand officials briefly scrambled emergency services personnel when a Loon balloon came down.{{cite web|last1=Sharwood|first1=Simon|title=That's no plane wreck, that's a Google Wi-Fi balloon: unplanned splashdown scrambles New Zealand emergency services|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/06/20/thats_no_plane_wreck_thats_a_google_wifi_balloon/|website=The Register|access-date=November 15, 2014|date=June 20, 2014}}
• In November 2014, a South African farmer found a crashed Loon balloon in the Karoo desert between Strydenburg and Britstown.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/11243440/South-African-sheep-farmer-discovers-downed-Google-Loon-balloon-crashed-in-Karoo-Desert.html |title=South African sheep farmer discovers downed Google Loon balloon crashed in Karoo Desert |work=The Daily Telegraph |date= November 20, 2014 |access-date= March 11, 2015}}
• On April 23, 2015, a Loon balloon crashed in a field near Bragg City, Missouri.{{cite web|title=Device known as 'Google Loon' lands in Missouri|url=http://www.kctv5.com/story/28906631/device-known-as-google-loon-lands-in-missouri|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429180433/http://www.kctv5.com/story/28906631/device-known-as-google-loon-lands-in-missouri|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 29, 2015|website=KCTV 5|access-date=April 27, 2015|date=April 27, 2015|df=mdy-all}}
• On September 12, 2015, a Loon balloon crashed in the front lawn of a residence on Rancho Hills, Chino Hills, California.
• On February 17, 2016, a Loon balloon crashed in the tea-growing region of Gampola, Sri Lanka while carrying out tests.{{cite web|title=Google's Internet balloon 'crashes' in Sri Lanka test flight|url=http://phys.org/news/2016-02-google-internet-balloon-sri-lanka.html|website=Phys|access-date=March 29, 2016|date=February 18, 2016}}
• On April 7, 2016, a Loon balloon landed on a farm in Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.[http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/810406-Project-Loon-Balloon-found-on-farm-in-KZN 'Project Loon' Balloon found on farm in KZN]
• On April 22, 2016, a Loon balloon crashed in a field in the Ñeembucú Department, Paraguay.{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.com.py/ciencia/globo-vino-de-nueva-zelanda-1473302.html|title=Globo de Google aterrizó bajo control - Ciencia - ABC Color|website=www.abc.com.py}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ultimahora.com/globo-google-cae-un-esteral-neembucu-n985467.html|title=Globo de Google cae a un esteral de Ñeembucú|date=April 22, 2016 }}
• On August 22, 2016, a Loon balloon landed on a ranch in Formosa, Argentina about 40 km West of the Capital of Formosa.{{Cite web|url=https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/Cayo-globo-Google-Formosa_0_S10YBDYc.html|title=Cayó un globo de Google en un campo de las modelos Maglietti|date=August 23, 2016|website=www.clarin.com}}
• On August 26, 2016, a Loon balloon landed northwest of Madison, South Dakota.
• On January 9, 2017, a Loon Balloon crashed in Sieyic, near Changuinola, Bocas del Toro province, Panama.{{citation|url=https://www.prensa.com/provincias/Investigan-satelite-comunidad-Bocas-Toro_0_4663783603.html|title=Proyecto Loon in Bocas del Toro|journal=La Prensa|date=January 9, 2017}}
• On January 8, 2017 and January 10, 2017, two Loon Balloons landed at 10 km E of Cerro Chato & 40 km NNW of Mariscala, Uruguay.
• On February 17, 2017 a Loon Balloon crashed in Buriti dos Montes, Brazil.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oficinadanet.com.br/post/18437-balao-do-project-loon-cai-no-interior-do-piaui|title=Balão do Project Loon cai no interior do Piauí|website=Oficina da Net|date=February 22, 2017 }}
• On March 14, 2017, a Loon Balloon crashed in San Luis, Tolima, Colombia.
• On March 19, 2017, a Loon Balloon crashed in Tacuarembó, Uruguay.
• On August 9, 2017, a Loon Balloon crashed in a reedbed in Olmos, Lambayeque, Peru.
• On December 30, 2017, a Loon Balloon crashed in Nthambiro, Igembe Central, Meru County, Kenya.{{Cite news|url=https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001264534/google-internet-balloon-equipment-plunges-into-igembe-meru|title=Google device plunges into a miraa farm in Igembe Central, Meru prompting talk of aliens|last=Ndung'u|first=Wainaina|work=The Standard|access-date=2018-01-02}}
• On March 1, 2021, a Loon Ballon crashed into a tree in Tocantins, Brazil.{{Cite web|title=Balão com equipamentos tecnológicos fica pendurado em árvore após cair no Jalapão|url=https://g1.globo.com/to/tocantins/noticia/2021/03/02/balao-com-equipamentos-tecnologicos-fica-pendurado-em-arvore-apos-cair-no-jalapao.ghtml|access-date=2021-03-02|website=G1|date=March 2, 2021 |language=pt-br}}

Loon has generally been well received, although Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project developers and astronomers have raised concerns that the lower of the two ISM bands that Loon used (2.4 GHz) would interfere with the mid-band frequency range (0.5 GHz–3 GHz) used in their project.{{cite web|last=Richard Chirgwin|first=Richard|title=Google launches broadband balloons, radio astronomy frets|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/17/google_launches_broadband_balloons_astrophysics_frets/print.html|work=The Register|access-date=June 25, 2013|date=June 17, 2013}}

Concerns have been raised about international political issues such as spectrum allocation, national airspace control, overflight right charges, and Internet censorship.{{cite web | last=Worstall | first=Tim | title=Google's Project Loon Problem: International Bureaucracy | website=Forbes | date=2013-06-23 | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/06/23/googles-project-loon-problem-international-bureaucracy/ | access-date=2023-02-07}}

• Alliance for Affordable Internet
• Atmospheric satellite
• Geostationary balloon satellite
• Google Fiber
• Google Free Zone
• High-altitude balloon
• Internet.org
• List of countries by number of Internet users
• Mobile broadband modem
• O3b Networks
• Outernet
• Raven Industries
• Starlink (satellite constellation)
• Stratovision

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Project Loon}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{YouTube|channel=UC85vZzdL-PEn_5hl8_FDHoA}}
• [https://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/08/googlex-project-loon/all/ The Untold Story of Google's Quest to Bring the Internet Everywhere—By Balloon]—Wired
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150730230442/http://www.economynext.com/Sri_Lanka_inks_deal_for_Google_Loon_broadband_floating_towers-3-2492.html "Sri Lanka inks deal for Google Loon broadband floating 'telecom towers{{'"}}]

{{Alphabet Inc.}}

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