After waiting for weeks, the solar-powered Solar Impulse 2 finally took off from Japan as it heads to Hawaii.
The solar-powered airplane had to postpone its planned 4,000-mile leg of the around-the-world journey due to bad weather. The trip would be the longest solar-powered flight in the world in both distance and time, and will also be the longest flight with a solo pilot in terms of time in history.
Solar Impulse 2 had to stay in Japan for three weeks because of the bad weather in the Pacific, before finally taking off from Nagoya at 2:03 p.m. ET on June 28.
It is expected that the current eighth leg of the trip will last for five days. Andre Borschberg, the Swiss pilot of the aircraft, will take short naps, practice yoga and do meditations to be able to endure through the lack of sleep while piloting the Solar Impulse 2.
The journey started on March 9 back in Abu Dhabi, in a flight towards Muscat, Oman. Borschberg has been alternating with fellow Swiss Bertrand Piccard as the pilots for the solar-powered airplane over the mission.
The delayed eighth leg started in Nanjing, China and was supposed to end in Honolulu, Hawaii. However, the flight had to be shortened due to the extreme weather conditions, forcing the Solar Impulse 2 to land in Japan on June 1. The aircraft suffered slight damages upon its landing, but repairs have already been made on it.
Seven legs of the journey have now been completed, and once Solar Impulse completes its eighth leg and lands in Hawaii, the next trip will have the Solar Impulse 2 fly to Phoenix, Arizona. Afterwards, the aircraft will have stops in the Midwest and in New York City.
The aircraft will then have two more legs as it would cross the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, then finally completing its journey by landing back at Abu Dhabi.
In addition to breaking records in the field of aviation, Borschberg and Piccard, who are also the founders of the mission, are looking to raise worldwide awareness regarding climate change as they showcase the possibilities without using anything else but renewable energy.
"The most important thing isn't to make world records," said Piccard. "It's to show what we can do with clean technologies."
The Solar Impulse 2 is powered by a total of 17,000 solar cells that line its 72-meter wings.
