Science Focus
original post »The first attempt to send a solar-powered aircraft around the world started at 3:12am UTC in the United Arab Emirates. The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft took off from an airport in the UAE for a 400 km flight down the coast of the Persian Gulf, with Oman being its intended destination. Due to the craft's low airspeed, that will take it roughly 12 hours, meaning it won't require much from the on-board batteries that can help keep the plane traveling 24 hours a day.
The flight is the first leg in a series of flights that will last most of the year. Many of the initial flights will be relatively short as it moves across Asia to China via stops in India and Myanmar. The biggest challenges there will likely involve the logistics of moving the aircraft's support crews to each location. From China, however, things get challenging, as the next stop is Hawaii—roughly 9,500 km distant. After three stops within the continental US, the craft will also cross the Atlantic to Europe.
This will put the aircraft and its pilots, André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, to a rather significant test, given the slow speed of forward progress generated by the craft's electric engines. The huge size of Solar Impulse 2—its wingspan is bigger than a 747's—is primarily to support carrying food, expanded batteries, oxygen and toilet systems, as well as the space required to let the pilot lie down and sleep.
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» see original post http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/science/~3/TGnG8YdvZVQ/
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