ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – A Swiss solar-powered plane has taken off from Abu Dhabi, marking the start of the first attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fuel.
Solar Impulse founder André Borschberg was at the controls Monday morning.
Borschberg will trade off piloting with Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard. They say their aim is to create awareness about replacing “old polluting technologies with clean and efficient technologies.”
The Si2 aircraft, propelled solely by the sun’s energy, is a single-seater made of carbon fiber and has 17,248 solar cells that supply the plane with renewable energy.