You may have been looking for updates on the progress of Solar Impulse Si2’s all-solar-powered flight around the globe. The reason for the lack of communication in recent weeks is that the airplane is grounded on the eastern end of China awaiting the perfect opportunity to cross the massive ocean between Asia and Hawaii. The team had planned to spend no more than 10 days in Nanjing, China, where the airplane landed more than a month ago, on April 21.
The 7th leg of the round-the-world flight is expected to take about 120 hours, nearly five times longer than any of the previous legs. Pilot and co-founder Andre Borschberg was all set to take off on Monday. However, the mission control center in Monaco cited flight time, possible alternate and weather stability as reasons to continue to delay the departure.
Solar Impulse has not yet announced the next date for a potential departure, but the team is hard at work studying the conditions. While we are hoping for a successful continuation of the round-the-world flight, this long delay puts its likelihood in question given the limitations of the airplane. At times during the first legs of the journey the Si2 has been flying backwards.
For more news on the Solar Impulse, click here.
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