MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The aircraft, piloted by Swiss Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg took off at 07:12 a. m. local time (03:12 GMT) from the Al Bateen Airport.
Solar Impulse 2 was first flown last year. Its single wing is covered by 17,200 sun batteries that power the aircraft's engines, enabling it to fly at a maximum speed of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour. Piccard and Borschberg will take turn piloting the plane during their round-the-world journey.
Solar Impulse 2 is part of the Solar Impulse project, led by Piccard, a psychiatrist and aeronaut, and Borschberg, a businessman. Its predecessor is Solar Impulse 1 that Borschberg used to complete the world's first ever manned 26-hour sun-powered flight on July 8, 2010.
The construction of Solar Impulse 2 was launched in 2011. It was completed in April, 2014 after some delays caused by structural failures.
