SEVILLE, Spain — An experimental solar-powered airplane landed in Spain Thursday, completing an unprecedented three-day flight across the Atlantic in the latest leg of its globe-circling voyage.
The Solar Impulse 2 landed in Seville in southern Spain at 0540 GMT on Thursday, ending a 71-hour, 8-minute flight which began from New York City on Monday. It was the first time a solar-powered plane has made such a journey using zero fuel and zero emissions, organizers said.
Organizers said the aircraft had flown 6,765 kilometers (4,204 miles) at a maximum height of 8,534 meters (28,000 feet) and average speed of 95 kph (59 mph).
Swiss officials say solar-powered plane lands in Spain photo
In this photo provided by
Solar
Impulse 2, the
solar
powered plane, piloted by Swiss pioneer
Bertrand Piccard
takes off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in
New York
on Monday, June 20, 2016, on its way to Southern
Spain
. (Jean Revillard/
Solar
Impulse 2 via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
It was the 15th leg of a planned around-the-world flight which began in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.
The flight was piloted by Swiss men Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.
Solar-powered plane lands in Spain photo
Andre Borschberg
, a pilot of the
Solar
Impulse project, foreground, greets
Bertrand Piccard
who piloted the
solar
-powered plane
Solar
Impulse 2 shortly after its landing at San Pablo airport in
Seville
,
Spain
Thursday, June 23, 2016. An experimental
solar
-powered airplane Thursday completed an unprecedented three-day flight across the Atlantic in the latest leg of its globe-circling voyage. The
Solar
Impulse 2 landed in
Seville
in southern
Spain
at 0540 GMT on Thursday, ending a 70-hour flight which began from
New York City
on Monday. It was the first time a
solar
-powered plane has made such a journey using zero fuel and zero emissions, organizers said. (AP Photo/Laura Leon)
"Initially the aviation industry told us it was impossible to build such an airplane, but we believed we could do it thanks to all our partners' technologies," Borschberg said in a statement.
The organizers said the mission will continue onward to Abu Dhabi.
It said the project showed that "exploration and pioneering are no longer about conquering new territories, but about exploring new ways to have a better quality of life on earth."
0 comments:
Post a Comment