 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Pioneering solar-powered plane makes airborne hop
Geneva (AFP) Dec 3, 2009 The prototype of Solar Impulse, a pioneering Swiss bid to fly around the world on solar power, briefly took off for the first time on Thursday but under battery power, the organisers said. The high tech single-seater with the wingspan of an Airbus A340 airliner (63.40 metres) made a controlled 400 metre (yard) flight about one metre above the runway at Duebendorf air base near the Swiss city of Zurich, said co-founders Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg. "A plane like that never flown before and it's extraordinary... because it's an area of flight that has been unexplored until now," Borschberg, chief executive of Solar Impulse, told AFP. "It was very important to see if it would rise and what way we could keep it stable," he added. Despite its wingspan, the aircraft only weighs 1,600 kilogrammes, about as much as a medium-sized car. Although the prototype is fitted up for solar-powered flight, the four electric motors were powered by batteries for the occasion. The prototype, which is slightly smaller than the craft that is expected to fly around the world, is primarily aimed at testing the cutting edge technology used to build and control the aircraft, and to fly through the night. A first non-stop 36 hour flight through darkness is planned in Switzerland from spring 2010, with the prospect of a five stage flight around the world in 2012. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com
China solar panel makers see boost from CopenhagenChangzhou, China (AFP) Dec 3, 2009 In Trina Solar's brilliant white factory in eastern China, masked workers in lab coats turn silicon wafers into solar power cells capable of harnessing the sun's clean and limitless energy. China is now the world's top producer of the cells -- the tile-like engines of solar panels -- and firms like Trina see next week's climate talks as a potential key moment in the wider adoption of renewab ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook