Clouds Got In The Way Of Solar Impulse’s Historic Pacific Ocean Crossing

Originally published on 1Sun4All.

On the tarmac, batteries fully charged — and no go! André Borschberg was scheduled to take off in Solar Impulse, from Nanjing, China, to Honolulu, Hawaii. But the mission team has decided against a takeoff on UTC May 25. After a final flight briefing, a managerial decision was made to cancel this flight.

Solar Impulse 2 (Si2) updated the watching world with the news that the weather worsened during the day and many other risks were brought to the attention of management, influencing this final decision. A certain level of readiness needs to be maintained to find the next window. The meteorologists are already working on an other slot, the Si2 team will know in a few hours when will be the next possible takeoff day. Stay tuned!

In a news release earlier this morning, Solar Impulse said this flight will be the longest flight ever on solar power, both in terms of distance and time. Not only will it be a first in aviation, it will also be the first multiple day flight for Solar Impulse, an exploration challenge: André Borschberg will remain about 6 days and 6 nights in #Si2’s cockpit, being exposed to extreme conditions!

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Flying across oceans without fuel means taking renewable energy to the ultimate level. Cast your vote on futureisclean.org if you also believe in the potential of clean technologies for a better future! After 12 years of research, development, simulation, and training, this flight will be the moment of truth for the cofounders of Solar Impulse, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg.

Join the Movement: FutureIsClean.org #FutureIsClean

Would you like to meet the Si2 team? Check out the new website team page!

Photo Credit: Solar Impulse | Cartoon Credit: Martin Saive via Solar Impulse