Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
A Solar Impulse aircraft takes off at Payerne airport May 24, 2012, piloted by André Borschberg. The Solar Impulse HB-SIA prototype aircraft, which has 12,000 solar cells built into its jumbo-jet-sized wings (about 200 feet long), attempted its first intercontinental flight from Switzerland to Morocco with a few days for a technical stop and a change of pilot in Madrid. This flight will act as a final rehearsal for the 2014 round-the-world flight.
The project website is here.
More coverage: NPR, Telegraph, AP, more photos and video at MSNBC, AFP, and video from Reuters.
Follow Solar Impulse on Twitter, and pilot André Borschberg is tweeting from the skies.
Flying along big wall of clouds. beautiful and impressiv but will climb higher #solarimpulse
— André Borschberg (@Andreborschberg) May 24, 2012
Starting the climb to make the big jump over the pyrenees #solarimpulse
— André Borschberg (@Andreborschberg) May 24, 2012
Live video feed below.
