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Solar-Powered Plane to Fly Around the World
securitas writes "The BBC's Carolyn Fry reports on the Solar Impulse project, a plan to circumnavigate the globe in a solar-powered airplane. Adventurers Brian Jones and Dr. Bertrand Piccard, who were the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a balloon in 1999, are behind the Solar Impulse project. The project is proceeding to the design stage after a feasability study determined that the solar-powered airplane concept is a viable idea. While other solar-powered planes like the Helios prototype have relied on a secondary power source (fuel cells), this project will be powered by solar energy alone. Batteries will store energy received in daylight hours to fly all night. The first prototype is scheduled for launch in 2006."
Solar electric propulsion is hardly new. It's been used for getting communications satellites out to their final geosynchronous orbits for a number of years now, and NASA demonstrated using solar-powered ion engines for interplanetary primary propulsion on Deep Space 1 [nasa.gov] back in '98.
What ESA is claiming is new about this mission is that they'll be combining ion propulsion with gravity assist maneuvers. AFAIK that hasn't really been done yet (although I know some guys at JPL who're working on it), and given how difficult it can be to work out low-thrust trajectories in the first place I would imagine that successfully throwing gravity assists into the mix would be a significant acheivement.
I first read about this sort of thing back in the 1970s. Proposals back then focused on constructing huge satellites (think 5 miles by 5 miles or 10 KM by 10 KM) in geosynchronous orbit. Energy would be beamed to earth via microwaves or lasers.
Planes could be powered via laser pointed at various reception devices (photovoltaic, steam generators, etc.).
Clouds would not be a major problem. Just pick a frequency that penetrated the clouds fairly easily. Or, in the case of airplanes, fly above the clouds.
For lots more information, just Google "Space Solar Power" [google.com].
Let me get this straight. Solar powered planes? How would this work in say a flight from London to America? It takes about a day in which the sun goes down. What will happen when the sun goes down? Will it crash? Will it run on reserve batteries? I'm not the world's most intelligent person, but I'm wondering how this will catch on...
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The parent is obviously pasted from the anti-slash.org database. Please mod the karma whore parent into the ground.
"Batteries will store energy received in daylight hours to fly all night."
Why not just fly the other drection and stay in the sunlight?
How would it be to fly close to the pole that has summer. There the night is very short. And the distance is short.
The second [google.com] after the link is because it's pasted. You don't see the parent crediting where the post was pasted from, either. Mod it down. It's a karma whore. Thanks, mods.
You're probably thinking of journalist Nellie Bly (pseudonym of Elizabeth Jane Cochrane), who left New York on November 14, 1889 and returned on January 25, 1890, beating Phileas Fogg's fictional journey by over a week. Phileas Fogg was a character in Jules Verne's novel "Around the World in 80 Days," published in 1872.
[now drifting irremediably OT] "Around the World in 80 Days" was a hell of a good movie, based on Verne's novel, which was released in 1956. It was filmed in Todd-AO--one of a handful of movies filmed in that process. It was spectacular and gorgeous and a lot of fun to watch. It had quite a cast, David Niven as Phileas Fogg and Cantinflas as Passepartout. Only bad part was that the theme, which was quite catchy, had become a hit tune and had been played on the radio so often that by the time I saw the film--this was in the days when movies stayed in theatres for more than a couple of weeks, and in the case of Cinerama and Todd-AO spectaculars it could have been months--everybody was thoroughly sick of the theme music.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
It's a blatant karma whore, and is NOT informative.
The solar cells will charge batteries. The batteries will power a bank of flashlights that will keep the wings illuminated at night.
It's pasted from the anti-slash database, which you can tell because of the second [google.com] after the link. Also, all he did was post a couple bs and link to a Google search page.
Mod it down.
this system is truly a piece of shit.
Helios used fuel cells to *store* energy from the solar cells in a closed system. This new project uses *batteries* to perform the same function. Therefore, the phrase this project will be powered by solar energy alone is not correct in implying there is anything significantly different than the Helios.
(BTW, I did some minor work on the Helios fuel cells)
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It's pasted out of the anti-slash database. You can tell this by the second [google.com] after the link.
And it's NOT informative, because all the link is, is a link to a Google search page. That's not at all informative.
When will people learn?
Don't know about the 1970's, but I sure remember reading about it at the end of November. Hmm. The story makes Slashdot on the day of the announcement, and the BBC is a month behind? Maybe it's not as bad around here as some would have us believe... ;)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
Indeed.
Everybody knows that the God wants us to burn oil, gas and coal.
Bomb anyone who thinks to the contrary.
The owls are not what they seem
I mean really, WHY ? Just because they think they can ? What are the possible implication in a commercial market ? NONE.... Now if someone said they were going to fly around the world on NATURAL GAS, or Cow Shit, that would be cool. Seriously, a LNG plane would be cool, and there are a lot of reasons to do it, but SOLAR is NOT going to be powering any transport planes in the near future. AND its not like they are tryinh to exploit a new avenue of solar energy conversion, same old technology thats been around for 50 years. THEN again its not like there was much use in cirumnavgating the globe in a balloon.....
moderation on crack (tm)
The Law of Falling Bodies
Aren't fuel cells batteries?
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make install -not war
And if we can utilize it directly, who do you think will lose? Why is OPEC already negotiating for subsidies to "guarantee the profitability of their business" in the face of environmental restrictions?
Fuck OPEC. Fuck the arabs. Use solar power.
Where is this a quote from? The article and site show an aircraft with traditional propellers on its tail.
What ESA is claiming is new about this mission
European Space Agency? Where were they mentioned?
is that they'll be combining ion propulsion with gravity assist maneuvers
Aircraft, as a rule, do not perform gravity assist maneuvers. It's a horrible faux paus.
The parent was likely cut-n-pasted from somewhere else. Moderate appropriately.
Back for a return engagement..
Around the World in a Solar Plane
The Piccards are well known for scientific exploration and adventure. Bertrand went around the world in the a balloon. The Piccard family is known as the inventor of the modern hot air balloon. Here is info on Don Piccard, one of his relatives. The bathyscaphe used to explore deep ocean areas was developed by Auguste Piccard. I've had the pleasure of speaking with Don Piccard before. Great family all around.
Please mod this troll down (see his user page for numerous first posts and other trolls). This plane doesn't use ion engines, doesn't have anything to do with the ESA, and doesn't go into outer space and therefore can't be using gravity assist maneuvers.
If you look at how much energy we use vs. how much renewable energy is available, it looks like a no-brainer to switch. The problem is that renewables are typically unavailable when, where and as desired. If there's a solution, it will begin with using the sun, wind, water and whatnot when they're working and only fall back to stuff like petroleum when (nighttime, dry season, calm conditions) and where (long-haul driving, northern climates in winter) the other stuff isn't available.
Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
This has already been discussed on /.
But maybe I could get even better karma by reposting my old comments into this new thread?
Fly west, when night comes, turn your plane around and fly towards the approacing dawn (east), this way you reduce the nighttime and increase daylight :)
If time isn't of importance... wonder if they thought about this...
If you look at how much energy we use vs. how much renewable energy is available, it looks like a no-brainer to switch. The problem is that renewables are typically unavailable when, where and as desired. If there's a solution, it will begin with using the sun, wind, water and whatnot when they're working and only fall back to stuff like petroleum when (nighttime, dry season, calm conditions) and where (long-haul driving, northern climates in winter) the other stuff isn't available.
This could and should already be happening, but the real dictators (the few immensely rich people who essentially own everything on earth) obviously don't want it to while there is still money to be made from oil, etc. These same people own almost all the media. Two plus two.. God Bless America LOL.
from PR Watch: "Topics such as energy conservation have been noticeably missing from public discussions of strategies needed for America to achieve energy self-reliance. Patriotism and self-sacrifice may be the rhetoric of the day, but apparently self-sacrifice cannot be allowed to include giving up gas-guzzling SUVs."
Just quit buying it.
"where words meet intent, lies rhetoric's lament"
...that America and New Zealand don't refuse them use of their sunlight. Don't want to encourage these tourists after all.
Thanks for the link, it's bookmarked.
Anyway anyone have any idea about the feasibility of this idea? From what I can tell some flywheels have better power density than batteries.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
just wondering... are there any electrical alternatives to jet engines that would provide similar speed? if we ever got entirely off fossil fuels, how would passenger jets work?
Oh, wait, that's Dr. Piccard, not Captain Picard.
Never mind.
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
Oh, and this: Then, batteries will store energy received in nightlight hours to fly all day...right? Uh no.
So....seriously, depending on the time of year and where they circumnavigate, say they get 12 hours of daylight; how is this thing gonna get 24 hours worth of flight out of that? I would be very interested to know.
I wouldn't want one of those over my house, especially in a state like Texas or Florida where storms are an everyday fact of life.