Session B2
Paper 6125
Disclaimer — this paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University
of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is based on
publicly available information and may not be provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used for any
purpose other than these authors’ partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at
the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own risk.
THE PRESESNT AND FUTURE OF SOLAR AIRCRAFTS
Alicia Hu (aqh3@pitt.edu, Bursic 2:00), Tyler Thompson (tyt5@pitt.edu, Mahboobin 10:00am)
significance, both socially and environmentally. The
conclusion would then be any final thoughts, personal
opinions towards how the technology should be implemented,
and any other loose ends to be wrapped up.
PROPOSAL
This paper will discuss the use of solar cell technology in
manned solar planes, solar drones, and other solar aircrafts,
and its significance. Leading in this field is Solar Impulse, a
Swiss clean energy solutions company with a focus on
aviation. Its current aircraft, Solar Impulse 2 (SI2) is currently
at the midpoint of its journey around the world. It recently
completed the longest leg of its journey, where it had to fly
for five straight days and nights [4]. Unlike other planes, the
SI2 manages to fly using only clean solar energy, equipped
with solar cells, lithium-sulfur batteries, and propeller engines
[1]. During the day, the power generated by the solar cells
drives two tiny electric motors, causing the plane to climb
upwards; during the night, the plane saves energy by
gradually descending downwards. Thus, the plane
theoretically can remain aloft for months [3]. In order to
achieve this, the engineers at Solar Impulse had to maximize
the energy efficiency of the craft. One of the most significant
aspects of this involved drastically decreasing the SI2’s
energy consumption. Although it is currently infeasible for
commercial planes to be entirely reliant on solar energy due
to the amount of energy required to power the heavier
commercial jets [3], this technology could still be used in
conjunction with traditional fuel sources to reduce pollution.
This is significant because, according to the International
Panel on Climate Change, fossil fuels generate up to 51 times
the greenhouse gases as those released during the production
of enough solar panels to power the same system [5]. In
addition, this technology can also be used to power solar
drones, which can be a potential replacement for satellites, to
track weather patterns, and to stream the internet [2].
The resources that will be used to further research for this
paper are text that focus specifically on Solar Impulse, which
involve mainly news articles and the company website, and
more general papers that outline the technology of solarpowered aircraft. The paper will be organized by first
contextualizing the technology in terms of the Solar Impulse
project but then extending to a more general technical
description of the technology. Afterwards, the paper will
discuss the relationship between this technology and
Electrical Engineering and then its short-term and long-term
REFERENCES
[1] O. Kederoglu, M. Kocaoğlan, B. Saraç, et. al. (2012).
“Solar Powered Aircraft.” International University of
Sarajevo.
(Online
project).
http://www.academia.edu/7515954/Solar_Powered_Aircraft
_Project
This report, published by the International University of
Sarajevo, is a comprehensive outline of the different
technologies for the various types of current solar-powered
aircraft, as well as its economic feasibilities. This source will
be very helpful in describing the minutiae of photovoltaic
cells designed for powering aircraft, but also includes
comparisons and data on a broad range of different aircraft.
[2] S. Bradley. (2016). “Solar Impulse may turn into
stratospheric drone.” Swiss Broadcasting Organization.
(Online article). http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/unmannedflight_solar-impulse-may-turn-into-stratosphericdrone/41872664
This article from SwissInfo, a branch of the Swiss
Broadcasting Company (a non-profit organization), provides
details on the work done by Solar Impulse and makes
hypotheses on future uses for their innovations in solar
technology. This source can be used to describe the
technology involved in solar drones as well as to discuss
future societal and ethical impacts of the technology.
[3] J. Linshi. (2015). “Everything You Need to Know About
Solar
Impulse.”
TIME.
(Online
article).
http://time.com/3903110/solar-impulse-plane/
This article, published by the weekly American magazine
TIME, describes the Solar Impulse project, specifically the
goal and current updates of Solar Impulse 2 to fly around the
world, and its background. This article will be used mainly as
a source for specific information on the Solar Impulse project,
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University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
2016-1-29
Session B2
Paper 6125
S. Brown. (2016). “Are Solar-Powered Drones the Future of
Sustainability?”
Tech.Co.
(Online
article).
http://tech.co/solar-powered-drones-future-sustainability2016-01
other similar projects, and what technologies are needed for
such an endeavor.
[4] “Our Adventure.” (2015). Solar Impulse. (Company
website). http://www.solarimpulse.com/adventure
This article, published by Tech.Co, discusses future uses and
the ramifications of solar powered drones and their related
technologies. Tech.Co was founded by former Tribune and
AOL product strategist Frank Gruber with the goal of giving
technology entrepreneurs and companies the opportunity to
connect with one another, as well as inform each other of their
innovations. This paper can use this article to discuss future
uses of solar drones.
This website contains information published by Solar
Impulse, a privately funded Swiss organization seeking to
create the first long-range solar-powered aircraft to
circumnavigate the globe. It provides more in-depth details on
how their technology works and what they hope to
accomplish in the long-run by developing this technology.
This source can use this to describe the technology and its
cultural, ethical, and societal ramifications.
[5] “Environmental Benefits of Solar Energy.” (2014). Pure
Energies.
(Company
website).
https://pureenergies.com/us/home-solar/solarbasics/benefits-of-solar-energy/
This article, published by a residential solar industry company
Pure Energies on its company website, describes the specific
benefits of utilizing solar energy, which are mainly
environmental but also economical as well. This source will
be helpful in demonstrating the significance of solar-powered
aircraft by establishing the advantages of replacing more
traditional fossil fuels, such as jet fuel, with solar energy.
SOURCES CONSULTED
“Choosing your Topic.” University Library System. (2014).
(Video).
http://www.library.pitt.edu/other/files/il/fresheng/index.html
This video was published by the University of Pittsburgh’s
University Library System in order to help freshman students
more easily choose topics for their writing-intensive classes,
such as the required engineering courses Engineering
Analysis and Engineering Computing. The paper utilized this
source to help us choose our topic and it was a major influence
in helping us choose a more specific topic.
“Solar-powered drones from Facebook could deliver internet
around the world.” (2014). RT. (Online article).
https://www.rt.com/usa/facebook-drone-space-internet-813/
This article, published by RT, a Russian news site, describes
Facebook’s rumored deal to acquire an aerospace company,
Titan Aerospace, to launch solar-powered drones. While the
drones, according to Titan, have a wide variety of
applications, Facebook primarily is using them to provide
Internet globally. This resource will be helpful when the paper
discusses the practical and future applications of solarpowered drone, mainly commercially.
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