VIVAERO Solar planes at 60,000 feet could fly for months with 500 Wh/kg batteries: US study A sleek, pilotless, solar-powered airplane that soars through the atmosphere to monitor climate or track wildfires was once just an idea. Now, these high-altitude specialty aircraft are advancing from early prototyping demonstrations towards potential commercial applications, supported by decades of research and development involving Harvard scientists , aerospace engineers, and industry collaborators. In a new paper published in ACS Energy Letters , researchers in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), in collaboration with partners in industry and the University of Michigan , lay out a pathway to clearing the most significant hurdle still facing extended solar flight: battery performance. Solar-powered, fixed-wing, long-endurance aircraft are designed to cruise for weeks or months at a time through the stratosphere – twice the 30,000-foot cruising altitud...
