Solar Impulse 2 Leaves Arizona on Record-Breaking Flight

Advertisement
By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 12 May 2016 17:56 IST
Solar Impulse 2 Leaves Arizona on Record-Breaking Flight
The Solar Impulse 2 plane took off from Phoenix, Arizona en route to Oklahoma on Thursday, resuming its record-breaking quest to circle the globe without consuming a drop of fuel.

The experimental solar-powered aircraft, piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, took off at 3:00 am (1000 GMT), live footage showed, for the latest stage of its around-the-world flight aimed at drawing attention to clean energy technologies.

"Goodbye Phoenix, thank you for your warm and friendly welcome," Piccard tweeted from the cockpit.

The flight to the city of Tulsa is expected to take 17 and a half hours.

The plane is set to make one or two more stops in the United States before finally landing in New York City, in the latest leg of a journey that kicked off in Abu Dhabi on March 9, 2015.

Advertisement

"The objective is to reach New York as soon as possible!" the Solar Impulse 2 team said in a statement Wednesday, although it is not clear when the plane might reach there.

The aircraft was grounded in July last year when its batteries suffered problems halfway through its 21,700-mile (35,000-kilometer) circumnavigation.

Advertisement

The crew took several months to repair the damage from high tropical temperatures during the flight's final Pacific stage, a 4,000-mile (6,437-kilometer) flight between Nagoya, Japan and Hawaii.

The plane was flown on that stage by Piccard's teammate Andre Borschberg, whose 118-hour journey smashed the previous record of 76 hours and 45 minutes set by US adventurer Steve Fossett in 2006.

Advertisement

The Solar Impulse 2's wings, wider than those of a Boeing 747, contain 17,000 solar cells that power the aircraft's propellers and charge batteries.

At night, the plane runs on stored energy.

The typical flight speed is around 30 miles (45 kilometers) an hour, which can increase to double that when exposed to full sunlight.

After crossing the United States, the pilots are set to make a trans-Atlantic flight to Europe, from where they plan to make their way back to their point of departure in Abu Dhabi.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series Launching Today: All You Need to Know
  2. Amazon Prime Day 2025 Sale: Discounts, Bank Offers Teased
  3. Vivo X200 FE Tipped to Launch in India on This Date
  4. Best Camera Smartphones Under Rs. 30,000 (July 2025): See Full List
  5. Honor X9c 5G India Launch Date, Key Specifications and Colours Revealed
  6. Ballerina Now Available for Rent on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and More
  7. Realme 15T India Launch Timeline, Colours, RAM, Storage Options Leaked
  1. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series Launching Today: Know Price, Expected Features and Specifications
  2. Virginia Tech Engineers Craft Durable, Self‑Repairing, and Recyclable PCBs
  3. Newly Detected Seaborgium-257 Offers Critical Data on Fission and Quantum Shell Effects
  4. NASA CODEX Telescope on ISS Reveals Hidden Secrets of the Sun’s Corona
  5. Rocket Lab Sets Record with 'Symphony in the Stars' Launch for Confidential Client
  6. FireSat Protoflight Satellite to Scan Earth Every 20 Minutes for Early Wildfire Detection
  7. Blue Origin Sends 750th Human to Space in Landmark Suborbital Flight from Texas
  8. My Oxford Year OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch it American Romance Drama Online?
  9. Moonwalk OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch Malayalam Musical Drama Online?
  10. Maa OTT Release Date Reportedly Revealed: When and Where to Watch Kajol Starrer Movie Online After Theatrical Run?
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.