Flying As Passenger On A Solar Airplane
Believe it or not, the sun has been powering aircraft in continued flight since the 1980s, states Tony Tao, a Ph.D. trainee in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. Tao clarifies that NASA and its subcontractors have been at the forefront of development for solar-powered aircraft, having created the Pathfinder, Centurion and most recently, Helios. All three aircraft are remotely piloted, use batteries and fuel cells to keep power for nighttime flying, and are “all-wing” in structure.
In 2016, Facebook slid in on the action with Aquila, a solar-powered airplane designed to provide internet connectivity to areas without internet providers (probably to help boost Facebook accounts and do a good deed).
Many of these …
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