The world’s first solar plane nicknamed ‘Solar Impulse’ has successfully completed its first international flight.

After spending most of last week waiting for favorable weather conditions, the Swiss solar powered aircraft made the run from Payerne to Brussels last Friday in a flight that lasted 12 hours 59 minutes.

Solar Impulse is an astonishing feat of engineering. It has a wingspan of over 200 feet (61 m) yet it weighs only 1600 kg (3,527 lb) and carries almost 12,000 solar cells which supply all of the energy required to keep it aloft.

The project founded by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg (who was at the controls during the first international flight) is not geared towards producing a commercial product but instead aims to demonstrate just how much can be achieved with renewable technology.

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