{"id":217391,"date":"2026-05-13T21:48:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ushopwell.com\/ublog\/solar-drone-with-jumbo-jet-wingspan-broke-a-flight-record-then-it-crashed\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T21:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:48:27","slug":"solar-drone-with-jumbo-jet-wingspan-broke-a-flight-record-then-it-crashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ushopwell.com\/ublog\/solar-drone-with-jumbo-jet-wingspan-broke-a-flight-record-then-it-crashed\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar drone with jumbo jet wingspan broke a flight record\u2014then it crashed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>A solar-powered drone has been lost at sea after a record-breaking flight lasting eight days between late April and early May. The crash also marks the untimely demise of the pioneering aircraft Solar Impulse 2, which previously performed the world\u2019s first <a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/science\/2016\/06\/solar-impulse-2-first-solar-power-atlantic-flight\/\">solar-powered crossings<\/a> of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans before becoming an uncrewed test platform for US military missions.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skydweller.aero\/perpetual-flight\/\">carbon-fiber aircraft<\/a> could perform such feats of aeronautical endurance while running solely on renewable energy and batteries because of a 236-foot (72-meter) wingspan\u2014comparable to a Boeing 747 jumbo jet\u2019s wings\u2014covered with more than 17,000 solar cells. The company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skydweller.aero\/\">Skydweller Aero<\/a> purchased and modified the original Solar Impulse 2 aircraft to become a test platform for \u201cperpetual uncrewed flight\u201d with the capability of carrying up to 800 pounds (363 kilograms) of payload.<\/p>\n<p>Skydweller Aero was conducting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skydweller.aero\/news\/skydweller-aero-successfully-demonstrates-perpetual-flight\/\">test flights<\/a> for maritime patrol mission scenarios with the US military, and the company also holds contracts with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skydweller.aero\/news\/skydweller-aero-navy-contract-beyond-5g\/\">Navy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skydweller.aero\/news\/usaf-awards-skydweller-nokia-federal-contract-for-airborne-5g-network\/\">Air Force<\/a>. So the Skydweller drone was operating in that capacity when it took off on its final flight in the early morning hours of April 26.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gadgets\/2026\/05\/solar-drone-with-jumbo-jet-wingspan-broke-a-flight-record-then-it-crashed\/\">Read full article<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gadgets\/2026\/05\/solar-drone-with-jumbo-jet-wingspan-broke-a-flight-record-then-it-crashed\/#comments\">Comments<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wpematico_credit\"><small>Powered by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wpematico.com\" target=\"_blank\">WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A solar-powered drone has been lost at sea after a record-breaking flight lasting eight days between late April and early May. The crash also marks the untimely demise of the pioneering aircraft Solar Impulse 2, which previously performed the world\u2019s first solar-powered crossings of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans before becoming an uncrewed test platform for US military missions. The carbon-fiber aircraft could perform such feats of aeronautical endurance while&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"","tve_custom_css":"","tve_user_custom_css":"","tve_globals":{},"tcb2_ready":0,"tcb_editor_enabled":0,"tve_landing_page":"","_tve_header":"","_tve_footer":""},"categories":[241],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Solar drone with jumbo jet wingspan broke a flight record\u2014then it crashed - UshopWell.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ushopwell.com\/ublog\/solar-drone-with-jumbo-jet-wingspan-broke-a-flight-record-then-it-crashed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Solar drone with jumbo jet wingspan broke a flight record\u2014then it crashed - UshopWell.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A solar-powered drone has been lost at sea after a record-breaking flight lasting eight days between late April and early May. The crash also marks the untimely demise of the pioneering aircraft Solar Impulse 2, which previously performed the world\u2019s first solar-powered crossings of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans before becoming an uncrewed test platform for US military missions. 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The crash also marks the untimely demise of the pioneering aircraft Solar Impulse 2, which previously performed the world\u2019s first solar-powered crossings of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans before becoming an uncrewed test platform for US military missions. 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