Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Solar Energy News .




SOLAR DAILY
Solar Impulse could be stuck in Japan for a year: pilot
by Staff Writers
Geneva (AFP) June 25, 2015


A solar-powered plane attempting to fly around the world must cross the Pacific within a few weeks or it could remain stuck in Japan for a year, its pilot said in an interview published Thursday.

Solar Impulse 2, which has been stranded in Japan for three weeks and had to postpone a planned take off this week due to bad weather over the Pacific, only has a short window for making the next leg of its journey, one of its two pilots, Bertrand Piccard, told the Tribune de Geneve daily.

By early August, the days will become too short for the solar-driven plane to cross the Pacific, and subsequently the Atlantic Ocean safely, he said.

"Before August 5, we must have crossed the Pacific or the Atlantic," Piccard said, adding that if the team is unable to do so they will have to find a permanent hangar where the fragile aircraft can pass the winter.

If the plane makes it to the United States, it can easily pass the winter there before crossing the Atlantic to complete its around-the-world trip, since the team has a permanent hanger in New York, Piccard said.

His partner, Andre Borschberg, had been scheduled to take off with the plane from the central Japanese city of Nagoya early Wednesday bound for Hawaii, on the latest and most ambitious leg of a bid to circumnavigate the globe using only power from the sun.

But after a few agonising hours poring over meteorological forecasts covering the five days and five nights the flight was expected to take, mission chiefs pulled the plug.

"There is still a cold front that is blocking our route. Our meteorologists are constantly evaluating alternative routes," Piccard said.

He pointed out that Solar Impulse 2 can "fly through clouds for 10 hours, but after that it needs blue skies to recharge its batteries. Otherwise, Andre will have to jump out in a parachute."

"We can't take that risk," he said.

The featherweight flying machine was not supposed to land in Japan on its multi-leg trip around the globe, but bad weather en route from Nanjing, China to Hawaii forced a diversion at the start of June.

Ever since, the crew has been scouring long-range forecasts for an opportunity to restart its record-breaking journey.

Piccard said the many sponsors footing the bill for the project had promised to continue their support, but acknowledged the team would need to figure out how to continue paying salaries to the some 150 people working on the venture if it dragged on.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





SOLAR DAILY
Toward tiny, solar-powered sensors
Boston MA (SPX) Jun 25, 2015
The latest buzz in the information technology industry regards "the Internet of things" - the idea that vehicles, appliances, civil-engineering structures, manufacturing equipment, and even livestock would have their own embedded sensors that report information directly to networked servers, aiding with maintenance and the coordination of tasks. Realizing that vision, however, will require ... read more


SOLAR DAILY
Better switchgrass, better biofuel

Mold unlocks new route to biofuels

Elucidation of chemical ingredients in rice straw

Leaving on a biofueled jet plane

SOLAR DAILY
IBM's Chef Watson shares his culinary artifcial intelligence

Cockroach-inspired robot can navigate cluttered environs

Planarian regeneration model discovered by artificial intelligence

Robot border guards among new airport tech at Paris Air Show

SOLAR DAILY
Silent flights: How owls could help make wind turbines and planes quieter

Wales opens mega offshore wind farm

Victoria open for clean energy business after wind farm changes

London to end subsidies for onshore wind

SOLAR DAILY
Ford to support car-sharing with program for buyers

Germany, world champion in car-sharing

California ruling against Uber hits at business model

India's booming taxi-app firms endure bumpy ride

SOLAR DAILY
Could we one day control the path of lightning?

X-ray imaging reveals secrets in battery materials

Unravelling the mysteries of carbonic acid

Hematite 're-growth' smoothes rough edges for clean energy harvest

SOLAR DAILY
Austria to file EU complaint against UK nuclear plant

France to study building nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia to Turn to Russian Expertise in Nuclear Energy

E.ON wants to close Swedish nuclear reactor

SOLAR DAILY
Renewables record year uncouples growth of global economy from CO2

Access to electricity is linked to reduced sleep

Dutch court orders state to slash greenhouse emissions

US economist pens energy plan for Spain protest party

SOLAR DAILY
A contentious quest for Kevazingo, Gabon's sacred tree

Changing climate prompts boreal forest shift

Predicting tree mortality

When trees aren't 'green'




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.