World’s first international air trip powered by the sun

A solar energy plane made the world’s first international flight powered by the sun on Friday to show the potential for pollutionfree air travel.

The Solar Impulse took off from an airfield at Payerne in western Switzerland on Friday morning and landed at Brussels airport after a 13-hour flight.

“The objective is to demonstrate what we can do with existing technology in terms of renewable energy and energy savings,” project cofounder and pilot André Borschberg told Reuters  telephone during the flight.

Borschberg believes such solarharnessing technology can be used to power cars and homes. “It is symbolic to be able to go from one place to another using solar energy,” he said. Read more