Abu Dhabi: It will be another two to three weeks before Solar Impulse 2 is able to continue its journey, after the aircraft suffered battery damage due to overheating.
The batteries were overheated on the aircraft’s last journey that saw it fly for just under five days (118 hours) from Nagoya, Japan, to Hawaii.
In a statement released on its website, the damage caused to the batteries was said to be “irreversible”. The statement added that the batteries “will require repairs and replacements that will take several weeks to work through”.
On how long it would be grounded, the team said, “Solar Impulse does not see the possibility of any flights before two-three weeks at the earliest.”
The latest delay and setback dashes any hope of Solar Impulse 2 arriving in Abu Dhabi according to its planned schedule, which was set for late July or early August.
More worrisome is the fact that the daytime length, which is vital to the aircraft, will also be getting shorter over the course of the next few weeks, posing further challenges for the planned journey.
The next planned flight for Solar Impulse 2 was to see the aircraft fly from Hawaii, to Phoenix, Arizona.
Solar Impulse 2 originally began its historical journey on March 9, taking off from Abu Dhabi, with the aircraft not using a single drop of fuel for the entire journey, relying on solar power alone as its energy source.
The last leg of its journey made history as well as the longest solo flight in aviation history, piloted by Andre Borschberg, CEO of Solar Impulse.
