Originally published on 1Sun4All.
Breaking News: the Solar Impulse team says the epic flight over the Pacific Ocean is scheduled. I have provided a link for the video of the landing below. This is different from previous flights when I have been able to use both landing and takeoff videos in my article. We here at CleanTechnica wish the entire Solar Impulse team, André Borschberg, and Bertrand Piccard our best prayers and thoughts for the safe success of this inspiring mission.
At 18 UTC / 2pm EST on 30 May 2015, the Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), the solar-powered airplane of Bertrand Piccard (initiator and pilot) and André Borschberg (co-founder, CEO and pilot) will attempt to take off for the first-ever manned multi-day flight over water without the use of fossil fuel.
I promised my wife @yborschberg & my friend @bertrandpiccard that I would bring @solarimpulse in one piece to Hawaii pic.twitter.com/PkAzKz6d1X
— André Borschberg (@andreborschberg) May 30, 2015
In the mission’s so-called moment of truth, and extreme test of endurance, André Borschberg will pilot Solar Impulse on the first exploration leg from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii in the United States. This aviation first and pioneering adventure into unknown territory will be the longest flight for a single pilot airplane in duration ever flown with any type of airplane. The journey is expected to last at least 6 days and 6 nights.
This flight across the Pacific, if successful, will be the longest ever on solar power, both in terms of distance and time.
Bertrand Piccard tweeted: “AndreBorschberg will attempt the first multiple day flight of @SolarImpulse. It will be experimental and unique.”
24/7 transmissions from the airplane and the Mission Control Center allow us to follow this adventure in real time.
You can watch the landing in Hawaii here.
Crossing the Pacific from China to Hawaii in Si2 will be the ultimate test of endurance for both the pilot and the plane. It will ask the critical question of whether Solar Impulse 2 can accomplish this first ocean crossing and then succeed with the rest of its round-the-world journey. Will the pilots’ endurance suffice as they face the innumerable complexities and challenges of such a long flight? Were the weather and operational choices selected for this experimental airplane – which is as wide as a jumbo jet yet as light as a car, and therefore extraordinarily sensitive to turbulence – the right ones?
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
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