Solar Impulse Resumes Round-the-World Flight

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, the Solar Impulse Si2 is flying without fuel. But thankfully, it’s no emergency.

The all-solar-powered Si2 resumed its journey around the world this morning, taking off from Hawaii for a nearly three-day trip to Mountain View, California.

This trip marks the ninth leg of the plane’s flight, which began last spring in Abu Dhabi but was delayed nine months after a record-breaking five-day trip from Japan to Hawaii put so much stress on the Si2’s batteries that the airplane had to be grounded.

The Si2, which took off in Hawaii around 6 a.m. local time, can be tracked in real time during its flight across the remainder of the Pacific at Solar Impulse's website. The plane is piloted by Solar Impulse co-founder Bertrand Piccard.

The ambitious round-the-world trip will next take the Si2 to a not yet determined city in the central United States, then on to New York and Europe before concluding in Abu Dhabi.