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Solar Impulse 2, solar-powered plane unveiled

The Impulse 2 us a successor to the Impulse which was launched earlier in June 2009

Mumbai: Solar Impulse is a joint venture between four companies, ABB, Omega, Schindler and Solvay, to create an energy efficient and eco-friendly aircraft. The first plane was named Impulse or Impulse #1 and was unveiled in June 2009.

An upgraded version, Solar Impulse 2, was unveiled two days ago. It is a single-seater aircraft, designed to run completely on solar power and stay up in the air 24x7. The Solar Impulse 2 holds a large wingspan of 72 meters, which is larger than that of a Boeing 747 and weighs just similar to an average car at 2,300 Kg. The aircraft is designed to run on solar power (17,000 solar cells) during the day, which also charges the onboard lithium ion batteries to fly by night. Flight testing is planned for spring 2014, and the round-the-world flight for between April and July 2015.

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