Perhaps one day, he speculated with grand vision, voyagers could use this solar power as propulsion on trips across the stars: “Provide ships or sails adapted to the heavenly breezes, and there will be some who will brave even that void.” German astronomer Johannes Kepler was among its many observers, and he wrote to Galileo Galilei wondering whether it was sunlight that caused the comet’s tail to smear across the sky. In 1607, an apparition appeared at night: a comet that would eventually be named after Edmond Halley, the astronomer who predicted its 75-year orbit. The Parker Solar Probe will sample this layer of the sun directly, and for the first time we will be able to retrieve information about the realm that connects Earth and our star.Ĭomet tails were the first evidence that the sun was more than a static ball in the sky. From Earth, we can’t see the corona, unless we watch during a total solar eclipse. Solar wind from the corona drifts outward, crossing 93 million miles of space to create the aurora in Earth’s magnetosphere. We know that the sun’s atmosphere is much hotter than its outer plasma layer, a fact that seems to defy thermodynamics. What happens here, in the sun’s atmosphere stretching out millions of miles, affects this planet and every other place in our neighborhood, but its dynamics remain mysterious. Instead, the probe will fly directly into the only region of the solar system so far unexplored by spacecraft: the corona. That would be too dangerous-and impossible, because the sun is a roiling furnace of plasma, a state of matter unable to form what could be considered a surface. It will ultimately settle into an elliptical orbit that, at perihelion, comes within 3.9 million miles of the sun’s visible surface, more than seven times closer than any spacecraft has dared venture. At its top speed, the spacecraft will scream through space at 430,000 mph, fast enough to travel from New York to Los Angeles in 25 seconds.ĭuring seven years of carefully choreographed swoops, it will draw closer to the sun, like a matador dancing inward toward a glowering bull. A Delta IV Heavy rocket with an added upper stage will boost NASA’s Parker Solar Probe away from Earth and, whipped by Venus’ gravity, it will soon become the fastest spacecraft ever flown. Subsequently, follow us on Google News.In July, humanity will dispatch its first emissary to our star. Join us on Telegram Group for Latest Aviation Updates. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.Īlso, read FIRST LOOK: Air India Airlines New Possible Branding, Livery, Logo and More | Exclusive – Aviation A2Z He packed Helios Horizon into his car on Friday night and drove it back to his Florida home base, but he plans to return to the Minden-Tahoe Airport shortly to set additional records while flying electric aircraft. We are working to convince people that electric aircraft is a real possibility. The use of electric aircraft is pretty cool. He claims that his objective is to present the potential for environmentally friendly flight.
Taking an engineless glider above 90,000 feet is another goal he has in mind.
He served as the Solar Impulse project’s initial test pilot in 2016 when the aircraft made history by becoming the first solar-powered aircraft to circle the Earth. Iturmendi owns several world records as well.
“Batteries tend to heat up quickly in the last five per cent, and I think we were only two or three per cent away from the battery running out.” Helios Horizon Electric Aircraft It’s always risky since we’re trying to completely discharge the batteries, he said. His current main limitation is battery life because climbing requires a lot of energy. He claims that on a test flight last month, he was able to fly the aircraft as high as 20,000 feet, but without an authorised National Aeronautic Association observer present, that altitude won’t go down in history. In October and November of 2022, we conducted our initial round of flight tests, which had mixed results. “The project has been ongoing for a year and a half,” he stated. “The standing record before today was about 10,000 feet altitude.” The Helios Horizon crew and pilot Miguel Iturmendi claim to have been working on the aircraft up until liftoff. “The record went to almost 16,000 feet,” Maynard told 2 News on Friday morning. Official observer for the National Aeronautic Association Kris Maynard claims that it significantly beats the previous world record for electric aircraft weighing under 500 kilograms.
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