It harnesses the sun s rays running exclusively on solar power above the weather and conventional air traffic.
Airbus solar panels.
Airbus defence and space netherlands has provided satellites with power since 1979.
Zephyr is the world s leading solar electric stratospheric unmanned aerial vehicle uav.
Filling a capability gap complimentary to satellites uavs and manned aircraft to provide persistent local satellite like services.
The unmanned aircraft a 75 kilogram zephyr offers what airbus describes as local satellite like services and runs on solar power.
Airbus in spain provided control and electrical units and airbus in the netherlands provided radiator elements.
The solar impulse has about the same wingspan as a 747 airplane and its wings are covered in nearly 12 000 solar cells.
These cells are made of silicon and are very thin.
Specializes in the design manufacture and testing of aircraft with particular expertise in advanced materials lightweight structures and the integration of solar power systems in aircraft.
A reputation we are proud of.
In 1998 the remote controlled solar airplane pathfinder set an altitude record after reaching 80 000 feet.
Airbus in germany provided the solar arrays ottobrunn and key propulsion elements lampoldshausen.
More than 85 space missions have flown or are flying with our solar arrays all of which successfully deployed in space and perform as expected or even better still.
Silicon is a semiconductor that conducts electricity in certain conditions while acting as an insulator in certain other conditions.
The pilot also climbed to 29 000 feet during the day and glided down to.
The wingspan of solar impulse 2 is 71 9 m 236 ft slightly less than that of an airbus a380 the world s largest passenger airliner but compared with the 500 ton a380 the carbon fibre solar impulse weighs only about 2 3 tonnes 5 100 lb little more than an average suv.
During daylight the solar panels charged the plane s batteries which make up a quarter of the craft s 2 3 tonne weight.
That s about 200 square meters of solar cells.
Solar powered airplanes in 1981 paul maccready built solar challenger the first aircraft to run on solar power and flew it across the english channel from france to the u k.
