The Swiss-made solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse 2, took off from Abu Dhabi on Monday morning 2015.03.09 on a 35,000-kilometer (21,700-mile) long journey in a historic attempt to fly around the world without fossil fuel.
The single-seat aircraft will be flown by two pilots, André Borschberg and Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard.
Some legs of the trip, such as over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, will mean five days and five nights of flying solo. The pilot's aim is to rest a maximum of 20 minutes straight, repeating the naps 12 times over a 24-hour period. Goggles that are worn over the pilot's eyes will flash lights to wake him up. Armbands worn underneath the suit will buzz if the plane is not flying level.
The pilot's blood oxygen levels constantly will be monitored and sent back to ground control.
The plane will reach an altitude of around 28,000 feet (8,500 meters) during the day in order to catch the sun's rays and at night it will go down to around 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) when flying over the ocean.
In 1999, Piccard and another pilot made the first non-stop balloon circumnavigation of the world.
The aircraft, a larger version of a single-seat prototype that first flew five years ago, has a wingspan of 72 meters (236 feet).
Built into the wings are 17,248 ultra-efficient solar cells that power four electrical motors that in turn powers the plane's propellers. The solar cells also recharge four lithium polymer batteries for flying at night.
The aircraft Si2 weighs around 2,300 kilograms (5,070 pounds).
The journey will span 25 flight days over five months before they return to Abu Dhabi in late July or August 2015.
Source: msm.com / AP
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