Jul 9, 2009 07:20 AM
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Solar Impulse—the 100% solar-powered airplane that will go around the world—is complete and ready to circumnavigate the globe. And for the first time ever, its pilot—actually, the real Piccard—will use a symbiotic suit.
A symbiotic suit will allow Bertrand Piccard—the pilot and one of the cofounders of the project—to sleep on his seat at any given time, If anything goes wrong or any flight adjustments are needed, the computer will use the suit to wake him up.
With a 262.5-foot wingspan—that's longer than an Airbus A380—the Solar Impulse will travel at an average speed of 43.5mph at a maximum altitude of 39,300 feet. [Computer Weekly]
Send an email to Jesus Diaz, the author of this post, at jesus@gizmodo.com.
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