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Solar Powered Plane Smashed
Records
Just a few days after the first manned
solar flight an unmanned solar aircraft set up the world
record for continuous flight.
Solar
plane called Zephyr, designed and
developed by UK defense technology company took off in Arizona on July 9.
and has been flying for nine days.
In fact, Zephyr this time doubled its own unofficial record of over 82 hours
of flight and smashed the previous world record for unmanned flight of 30
hours and 24 minutes which was set in 2001. by U.S. aerospace company.
Weighing just 53 kilograms, Zephyr has a wingspan of 22 and half meters and
wing area of around 30 square meters. Top side of wings is covered in solar
panels thinner than a sheet of paper. Sounds very interesting, so light but
so effective in use of
solar energy.
Those solar panels were connected to lithium-sulphur batteries which powered
the plane at night. 18 months were needed for completion of last prototype.
It is very bright future for such solar planes since they can be used in
risk situations like monitoring of forest fire.
During the flight Zephyr showed no signs of running out of power so
designers are hopeful it will stay in the air for another five days when the
solar plane will finally return to Earth.
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