In what is most likely a move related to the Internet.org project, Facebook, one of the leading backers, is reportedly close to acquiring Titan Aerospace, a drone-making company.

First reported by TechCrunch, sources said the deal will be worth a cool $60 million, chump change compared to Facebook's latest deal, the $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp. Titan Aerospace's drones are near orbital, solar powered and can fly for up to five years without needing to land.

Internet.org aims to provide cheap access to the web for the five billion people on the planet that do not have it. The drones' purpose is obvious, if they can stay in the air for years at a time, they can deliver an Internet signal to remote parts of the Earth.

The drones are extremely versatile and could serve a wide range of purposes like communications, which Facebook is most interested in, weather monitoring, Earth imaging and disaster recovery. They act like orbital satellites, but cost far less.

Facebook plans to first use them in Africa, building 11,000 of the "Solara 60" models, the sources told TechCrunch. The Solara 50 and 60 drones are launched at night and operate on an internal battery pack until the sun rises. At that point, they store enough energy to fly for five years without landing at an altitude of 20 km above sea level.

It is easy to tell why Facebook is interested in the Solara 60, because it can carry up to 250 pounds, whereas the 50 model can only carry 70 pounds, according to Ars Technica. The Solara also offers about an 18-mile radius of communications coverage, large enough to encompass all five NYC boroughs, Newark and Yonkers.

The WhatsApp purchase now appears to fit even more within Facebook's vision, as it could serve to improve their messaging service as well as provide communication to the world. With at least a weak Internet signal everywhere in the world, anyone would be able to use WhatsApp's messaging service.