Solar Impulse

Solar Impulse is an innovative project leveraging technological prowess and the spirit of adventure by means of an airplane. It was launched in 2003 by a visionary and an entrepreneur, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, challenging common certitudes and making room for a glimpse into a more sustainable future.

The project's raison d'être is to spread a message by flying in the skies powered solely by solar energy. Having completed its first 26-hour flight through the night in 2010 and the world's first intercontinental flight connecting Europe to Africa in 2012, Solar Impulse's HB-SIA prototype is eager to participate in a new challenge: the celebrated coast-to-coast crossing of the United States, San Francisco to Washington D.C. and New York City. Originally unplanned, the perfect opportunity for this new adventure emerged after the decision to rebuild Solar Impulse's second generation aircraft's wing spar.

This year's Across America mission is scheduled to kick-off starting May 1st, flying from San Francisco to the nation's Capital and the Big Apple, with 2-3 stopovers on the way. The project's ultimate goal is to fly around the world in 2015 with the second prototype aircraft, HB-SIB. Eleven percent larger, HB-SIB is designed to cross Oceans and more humid climates from east to west in the northern hemisphere.