Solar Impulse, a prototype of an airplane designed to fly around the world using only solar power, made its first real flight today. As the sun shone down on the Swiss countryside an aircraft ...

Miller sees solar aircraft as a complementary capability to LEO satellite communications rather than a direct rival, with the potential for providing continuous coverage in specific regions.

Solar Airplane's Round-The-World Trip Is Halted Until 2016 : The Two-Way Battery problems on the Solar Impulse, the airplane that has been flying around the world using only the sun's power, ...

Solar aviation traces its roots to the early 1970s, when hobbyists and engineers began using solar cells to power model aircraft. The first manned flight came in 1980, when the Gossamer Penguin ...

But the plane will also have to cross the Atlantic and Pacific, which will take an estimated five days, given that Solar Impulse 2's maximum speed is only 140 km/hour (about 85 mph), and it will ...

Solar plane pilot: "They said it was not possible" 01:15. Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard aren't looking to revolutionize aviation with their solar-powered aircraft.

The Solar Impulse 2 takes off from Abu Dhabi on the first leg of an attempted 20,000-mile circumnavigation of the globe -- an unprecedented journey for a sun-powered craft.

A solar-powered plane designed to fly both day and night has succeeded in its first attempt at a 24-hour voyage. Taking off from its base in Switzerland, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA soared into the ...

The Solar Impulse glides over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco during a test flight last week. The plane, which is powered by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells, is scheduled to begin a cross ...

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — A solar-powered airplane landed in California on Saturday, completing a risky, three-day flight across the Pacific Ocean as part of its journey around the world. Pilot… ...

Solar Plane V1 had a 9.5 ft / 2.9 m carbon fibre skeleton wing, covered with transparent film, with the fragile monocrystaline solar cells mounted inside the wing.