ESA Portal - Improving Daily Life - Wide as an Airbus light as a car

Services


80 metres wingspan

Wide as an Airbus light as a car

6 July 2005
The design of Piccard's plane is similar to that of a glider with wide wings and a thin light body. To capture sufficient sunlight the ultra-light aircraft will be as wide as the new giant airbus A380 with wings measuring 80 metres across. Yet in comparison to the A380's 560 tonnes, the plane will weigh just two tonnes.

The main technological challenge is managing energy. The idea is to capture, store and use about 8 hours of sunlight in each 24-hour period. During the daytime the plane must not only obtain sufficient energy to fly, but also store enough in its batteries to keep its electric motor running and the plane aloft throughout the night


	Flying at night

The battery reserves will not be sufficient by themselves. During the day the plane will take advantage of peak sunlight hours to climb up to 10 000 metres. Then, during the night, it will gradually glide back down to 3000 metres. Its large wings will increase the solar energy collecting surface area and also reduce the sink rate as the plane glides through the night.

Energy will be harvested from the 250 m2 of single-crystal silicon solar cells covering the upper wings. In addition, researchers from EPFL are developing dye-sensitive photovoltaic cells for possible use on the wings' undersides, to capture diffuse and low-angle sunlight near dawn and dusk. The energy will power the two engines which will provide 40 HP of thrust giving a top speed of 100 km/h.

Send this page to a friend

Solar Impulse

Sun-powered aircraft to support sustainable development Ultra-light technology Advanced life support systems for pilot

More information

Solar Impulse Scientific advisor EPFL

Space technologies aid solar-powered global flight bid European solar cell efficiency reaches new high