Hopes high as solar jet takes off
Source: Agencies |
July 8, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN experimental solar-powered plane whose makers hope to one day circle the globe using only energy collected from the sun took off for its first 24-hour test flight yesterday.
The plane with its 80-meter wingspan left Payerne airfield in Switzerland shortly before 7am local time after an equipment problem that delayed a previous attempt was solved, the Solar Impulse team said.
Pilot Andre Borschberg was scheduled to take the prototype to an altitude of 8,500 meters by evening, when a decision will be made whether to fly the plane through the night using solar power stored in its batteries.
"The goal of the project is to have a solar-powered plane flying day and night without fuel," said team co-founder Bertrand Piccard, adding that this test flight - the third major step after its first "flea hop" and an extended flight earlier this year - will demonstrate whether the ultimate goal is feasible: to fly the plane around the world.
"This flight is crucial for the credibility of the project," said Piccard, a record-breaking balloonist whose father and grandfather also accomplished pioneering airborne and submarine feats.
The team had hoped to make its 24-hour test flight last week when days in the northern hemisphere were even longer, allowing the plane's 12,000 solar cells to collect even more energy before attempting to coast through the night.
But there was a problem with a key piece of communications equipment, forcing the team to keep the plane on the ground while modifications were made. Every aspect of the aircraft is monitored by engineers on the ground, with much of it fed onto the team's website and Twitter page.
Borscherg, the plane's sole pilot, was to decide by 8pm (1800GMT) whether to continue through the night. If he goes ahead, the plane will slowly descend to 1,500 meters before midnight, where Borschberg will stay until attempting a dawn landing.
Piccard, who achieved the first nonstop circumnavigation of the globe in a balloon, the Breitling Orbiter III, in 1999, said that, if successful, the next step will be an Atlantic crossing. That will be done in a second, lighter prototype, involving new challenges and dangers, he said.
The plane with its 80-meter wingspan left Payerne airfield in Switzerland shortly before 7am local time after an equipment problem that delayed a previous attempt was solved, the Solar Impulse team said.
Pilot Andre Borschberg was scheduled to take the prototype to an altitude of 8,500 meters by evening, when a decision will be made whether to fly the plane through the night using solar power stored in its batteries.
"The goal of the project is to have a solar-powered plane flying day and night without fuel," said team co-founder Bertrand Piccard, adding that this test flight - the third major step after its first "flea hop" and an extended flight earlier this year - will demonstrate whether the ultimate goal is feasible: to fly the plane around the world.
"This flight is crucial for the credibility of the project," said Piccard, a record-breaking balloonist whose father and grandfather also accomplished pioneering airborne and submarine feats.
The team had hoped to make its 24-hour test flight last week when days in the northern hemisphere were even longer, allowing the plane's 12,000 solar cells to collect even more energy before attempting to coast through the night.
But there was a problem with a key piece of communications equipment, forcing the team to keep the plane on the ground while modifications were made. Every aspect of the aircraft is monitored by engineers on the ground, with much of it fed onto the team's website and Twitter page.
Borscherg, the plane's sole pilot, was to decide by 8pm (1800GMT) whether to continue through the night. If he goes ahead, the plane will slowly descend to 1,500 meters before midnight, where Borschberg will stay until attempting a dawn landing.
Piccard, who achieved the first nonstop circumnavigation of the globe in a balloon, the Breitling Orbiter III, in 1999, said that, if successful, the next step will be an Atlantic crossing. That will be done in a second, lighter prototype, involving new challenges and dangers, he said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
