The Solar Impulse 2 isn’t any average aircraft: it’s been
designed from the ground up with this mission in mind. Over 17,000 solar cells
line its wings, supplying a series of electric motors and charging four
on-board lithium batteries. It’s designed to be entirely solar-powered, and,
thanks to those batteries, able to fly through day and night. While we’ve
certainly seen solar planes before, it’s the first that can actually fly
between continents — and, if all goes well, it’ll soon be the first to fly
around the world.
The trip is due to take place over five months. It’s starting
and finishing in Abu Dhabi, with around 25 full flight days split into twelve
legs.
Solar Impulse, claimed to be the world’s only solar-powered aircraft,
will make a stop over in Ahmedabad tomorrow as a part of its maiden global
journey.
The tiny cockpit will be packed with essentials for the journey
— enough food and water for a week — as well as a parachute, life raft and
oxygen bottles in case of emergencies.
Borschberg and Piccard, who piloted an earlier version of the
plane across the U.S. in 2013, are no strangers to adventure. Borschberg is a
former fighter pilot, and Piccard was part of the first team to circumnavigate
the earth nonstop in a balloon in 1999.
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