Press release
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february 18, 2016 - Solar Impulse
Solar Impulse Engineers Reignite their Creation
Press release available only in original language.
The idle aircraft sits in Hawaii, impatient to do what it does best: fly using only solar power as its source of energy! Contrary to what you might think, it is not basking in the Hawaiian sun, but instead sits in a hangar at Kalaeloa airport. With the support of the Department of Transportation, the University of Hawaii offered to host the airplane in its hangar. It has been coated in a layer of aluminum sheet, sealed with tape, and inserted in the protected hangar to prevent it from any potential damage. It is only in the past two weeks that the aircraft has come back to life. The first Solar Impulse team members have started to slowly trickle back into the hangar as Mission Mode has slowly switched on. They are currently in Hawaii for one main purpose: to install the new batteries and to perform crucial maintenance tasks before the First Round-the-World Solar flights begin again. Here is a quick link to subscribe to the newsletter to get updates on what will happen next!
During André’s 5-day and night record-breaking Pacific flight from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii, the batteries in the aircraft overheated. How did this happen? While the aircraft was on the runway in Nagoya, the aircraft encountered harsh weather conditions. Moving forward, we decided to do a test flight before leaving for Hawaii. Having to perform a test flight followed by a mission flight had not been taken into account in the design process of the battery system, which did not allow the batteries to cool down in between the two flights. Solar Impulse is attempting a historic first - flying around the world solely relying on solar energy.
So, we found ourselves in a heated situation. We decided to take a break in the Round-the-World adventure and to take a step back and figure out what to do next with the aircraft. We removed the batteries and put Si2 to rest until the new set was ready.
While Solar Impulse has completed eight legs of the Round-the-World tour, covering nearly half of the journey, setbacks are part of the challenges of a project that is pushing technological boundaries to the limits.
After production, testing, and shipping, the new batteries have finally made it to Hawaii on Monday, 25th January, along with a few engineers in charge of installing the new system into the aircraft.
Activities have begun again under the Solar Impulse tent in Hawaii when the first engineers started to work on the plane again. They begin their hard work bright and early every day, careful to not lose any time. They have unpacked the plane by removing the aluminum sheets that protected the aircraft over the past six months.
They replaced the batteries and installed the new ventilation and cooling system for the batteries. General maintenance activities have also begun to prepare for the flights to commence. The team has switched on Mission Mode and there is an immense excitement from each member.
Part of the communication team has already joined the engineers in Hawaii and the rest are either preparing to join them in the coming weeks or are preparing to leave to the Mission Control Center in Monaco. The pilots have switched on Mission Mode in the office and we are eager to move forward onto the Round-the-World flights and fulfill our pilots’ dream!
In Dubendorf, the engineers have prepared the batteries and a new ventilation system for the aircraft to ensure the batteries remain cool. They have also been working on the solar drone project. At the moment, the engineers that make up the ground crew are getting ready to join the engineers in Hawaii and the rest are preparing for the flight mission in Monaco.
As for the pilots, they are getting ready to begin flying again. They have been preparing mentally - using hypnosis, meditation, and yoga techniques - and physically with free-fall training and flight simulations.
Soon, both pilots will undergo training flights so they can get used to the aircraft again before Bertrand moves forward and completes the rest of the Pacific Crossing to the West Coast of the United States.
The Round-the-World adventure will begin again in April - make sure you don’t miss anything by subscribing here to get updates on the flight mission.
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