Solar Impulse 2 plane completes first Atlantic crossing
Zero-fuel plane lands in Spain after becoming first solar-powered aircraft to make symbolic journey
Solar Impulse 2, the zero-fuel aircraft, has completed the first ever crossing of the Atlantic by a solar-powered plane and landed safely in Spain.
Its four-day trip started in New York on Monday. The plane will now continue to travel around the globe to showcase the capabilities of clean, renewable energy.
"The Atlantic is the symbolic part of the flight," pilot Bertrand Piccard told The Guardian. "It is symbolic because all the means of transportation have always tried to cross the Atlantic, the first steamboats, the first aeroplane, the first balloons, the first airships and, today, it is the first solar-powered aeroplane."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But the real goal is to "inspire people to use [renewable] technologies and show people they can use these technologies every day to have a better quality of life," he said.
The project had hoped to end the Atlantic leg in Paris, to replicate Charles Lindbergh's 1927 pioneering flight.
However, after storms were forecast for the French capital, Seville in the south of Spain was chosen as the safest option, Jonathan Amos, the BBC's science correspondent, reports.
Solar Impulse 2 is no heavier than a car but has a wingspan of more than 236ft, exceeding that of a Boeing 747, says tech website The Verge. It's covered in 17,000 cells to power the motors and charge its batteries during the day, continuing to power the craft at night.
The website adds that the craft typically flies at speeds of around 30mph - 18 times slower than a regular plane.
The project managers will now plot a route to the final destination, Abu Dhabi, where the venture began in March 2015.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Musk's reliance on China draws rising scrutiny'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biba: the story of a 'legendary emporium'
The Week Recommends Brand's 60th anniversary is being marked with retrospective celebrating the 'iconic shop's cultural importance'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
How the Russia-Ukraine conflict has spread to Africa
The Explainer Ukraine is attempting to strengthen its alliances on the continent to counter Russia's growing presence
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Spain spends €258m on trains too big for tunnels
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Animal shelter will name cat litter tray after your ex
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
‘Unsettling’ bid to bring dodo back to life
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By The Week Staff Published
-
Your LinkedIn contact could be a deepfake
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By The Week Staff Published
-
AI beats humans at bridge
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By The Week Staff Published
-
Who masterminded largest-ever cyberattack on Israel?
Under the Radar Defence officials point finger at Iran after government websites knocked offline
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘It is the internet’: Rohingya launch $150bn Facebook lawsuit over genocide hate speech
In Depth Victims in UK and US legal action claim social media giant failed to prevent incitement of violence
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Facebook for Palestinians’: inside Israel’s facial recognition surveillance system
In Depth Tech tells soldiers whether a person should be ‘detained, arrested or left alone’
By The Week Staff Published