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SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT
2 June 2014 Last updated at 03:59
The Solar Impulse 2 plane is as wide as a 747 jet but weighs less than three tonnes
Piccard’s and Borschberg’s TransAmerica journey was completed last year
To make ocean crossings, Piccard and Borschberg must spend days alone in the cockpit
Solar plane makes inaugural flight
The Solar Impulse 2 plane is as wide as a 747 jet but weighs less than three tonnes
A solar-powered plane that will be taken on a round-the-world journey in 2015 has taken off on its inaugural flight on Monday.
The Solar Impulse 2 lifted off from Payerne airfield in Switzerland.
It is a larger, upgraded version of the aircraft that flew across America last year with adventurers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg at the controls.
The two men want to push the boundaries for alternative energy and believe their plane can be a standard bearer.
For the maiden flight, test pilot Markus Scherdel was in the cockpit of the Solar Impulse. Wheels up occurred at about 03:30 GMT (04:30 BST; 05:30 CEST).
It follows weeks of ground and taxi tests, which have seen the vehicle run up to near take-off speed. This had satisfied project leaders that the craft's systems were ready to go airborne.
Pilot Andre Borschberg gives the BBC a guided tour of the solar plane
The carbon-fibre aircraft has a huge wingspan, which at 72m is wider than a Boeing 747 jet. And yet, the vehicle weighs only 2.3 tonnes.
The tops of the wings are covered by 17,000 solar cells, which drive four brushless electric motors at speeds of up to 140km/h (90mph).
Piccard’s and Borschberg’s TransAmerica journey was completed last year
During the day, the solar cells will recharge lithium batteries, which can then be used to keep the SI2’s propellers turning through the night.
The first Solar Impulse plane set a number of world records, including the longest manned solar-powered flight at 26 hours, the first inter-continental flight in a solar-powered plane, and the greatest distance covered on a piloted solar-powered flight. (Autonomous solar-powered drones can stay aloft for weeks).
That last record was set during Piccard’s and Borschberg’s epic TransAmerica journey in May, June and July last year.
But as challenging as that effort was, it will be dwarfed by the difficulty and complexity of completing a global flight.
This is because it will have to include passage across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The latter could take all of five days and nights to complete.
Only one pilot can fit in the cockpit. It has a reclining seat to make room for exercising and to permit Piccard and Borschberg, whoever is at the controls, to take short catnaps.
To make ocean crossings, Piccard and Borschberg must spend days alone in the cockpit
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter:@BBCAmos
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