Titan Aerospace

Titan Aerospace
Company type	Private
Industry	Aerospace, Unmanned aerial vehicles
Founded	2011
Founder	Max Yaney
Defunct	2017
Fate	Acquired by Google in 2014; project terminated in 2017
Headquarters	Moriarty, New Mexico, United States
Key people	Vern Raburn (CEO)
Products	Unmanned aerial vehicles (AtmoSat solar-powered drones)

Titan Aerospace was a United States-based aerospace firm located in Moriarty, New Mexico that operated between 2013 and 2014, specializing in the design and production of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The company was acquired by Google in 2016 with the objective of developing UAVs to enhance Internet connectivity in isolated areas. Nevertheless, Google terminated the initiative in January 2017.

History

Established in 2011 by Max Yaney, Titan Aerospace appointed Vern Raburn as its CEO in 2013. Raburn, who had previously founded Eclipse Aviation and served as Symantec's CEO, contributed significant expertise from both aerospace and technology industries.

In early 2014, Facebook reportedly made a $60 million offer to purchase Titan Aerospace, aiming to utilize drones for cost-effective internet delivery in underserved regions. Ultimately, Google completed the acquisition in April 2014.

Initially managed within Google's Access division under the name "Project Titan," the program was later transferred to Alphabet's X Development lab following the company's reorganization in 2015. The project was discontinued by 2016.

Product

Titan Aerospace focused on creating unmanned aircraft known as AtmoSat—solar-powered drones functioning as atmospheric satellites capable of operating at altitudes near 20 kilometers with satellite-like functions. These drones were equipped with solar energy systems designed to enable continuous flight durations up to five years, covering distances around four million kilometers.

Types

The Solara 50 model featured a wingspan of 50 meters and a length of 15 meters, introduced at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems conference in Washington. It was engineered to carry payloads weighing up to 32 kilograms.
The subsequent Solara 60 was planned to support payloads exceeding 100 kilograms.

The Solara AtmoSat series targeted international markets by providing services such as live Earth observation, voice and data communication, navigation assistance, mapping solutions, and atmospheric data collection. Its coverage area was estimated at approximately 17,800 square kilometers—outperforming the range of more than one hundred conventional cellular towers.

First and only test flight

On May 1, 2015, the sole Solara 50 (tail number N950TA) conducted a flight lasting four minutes and sixteen seconds before experiencing an in-flight structural failure at roughly 520 feet altitude, resulting in a crash.

References

External links