Solar Impulse Plane Successfully Soars Through the Night
Friday, July 9th 2010 12:00 PM
By GetSolar Staff.
The much-heralded 24-hour flight of the Solar Impulse, a prototype solar-powered airplane, finished successfully after 26 hours and 9 minutes this morning in Switzerland. The spindly, lightweight plane soared over Swiss mountains and fields, piloted by former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot André Borschberg.
The other founder of the project, aeronaut Bertrand Piccard, became famous for being the first man to conduct a non-stop balloon flight around the world.
Piccard and Borschberg have collaborated on the Solar Impulse project for years. It began with a feasibility study at the French engineering college École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, and the first prototype took flight last year.
An overnight flight was a landmark, however, proving that a solar aircraft could store enough energy during the day to sustain its systems in darkness.
The construction of the fragile-looking Solar Impulse plane pushed the boundaries of solar technology in unexpected directions. Weight was the key concern, with 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells installed on the wings. The cells were built from lightweight monocrystalline silicon, with energy conversion efficiency at about 12 percent. That's not particularly high on its own, but it's staggering given the need for lightness.
Financing and technological assistance came from a wide variety of partners, with Deutsche Bank, Omega Watches, and Belgian chemical firm Solvay providing the bulk of the support.
SolarMax Technology of Industry, California was the primary solar panel manufacturing company to throw its financial and technical support behind the Solar Impulse project.
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The much-heralded 24-hour flight of the 
