TechFlying an airship around the world. They won't land even once

Flying an airship around the world. They won't land even once

Traveling around the world is not unimaginable nowadays. However, it turns out that some believe it could be done with a zero-emission vehicle, without landing on Earth. Solar Airship One is a blimp that allows it.

Photovoltaic airship
Photovoltaic airship
Images source: © solarairshipone.com

Around the world journey by an airship, without landing. This is the challenge that is to be accomplished by Solar Airship One, a photovoltaic airship. As we read on newatlas.com, the journey of approximately 25 thousand miles in an emission-free vehicle is supposed to take around 20 days.

The Solar Airship One airship is 495 feet long. Its entire surface, i.e. about 4.8 thousand square meters, will be covered with solar foil. This will allow for the generation of energy needed to power the electric drive. The excess energy will be used to perform electrolysis of water into hydrogen. This will allow for travel at night, when atmospheric conditions are not favorable.

A three-member team will be responsible for piloting the vehicle. The team consists of former French astronaut and air force pilot Michel Tognini, paraplegic Dorine Bourneton who survived an air crash and is an acrobatic pilot, and Bertrand Piccard who circumnavigated the Earth without landing in 1999, traveling by balloon.

The speed of the airship is expected to be just over 51 mph, equivalent to about 10 percent of the speed achieved by passenger planes. The journey will be long, but if successful, it will prove that travel can occur without carbon dioxide emissions. However, it's hard to imagine that we'll switch to airships. Still, it's possible that there may be other uses for them.

According to some, they can be considered luxury means of transportation. Others see in them a chance to supplement the freight transportation industry. Hydrogen-powered airships would have 8 to 10 times greater cargo capacity than cargo planes, while costing 25% of their price. At the same time, their speed is several times higher than the speed of sea freighters.

Solar Airship One uses renewable energy, but one of its key elements is not renewable. It's about helium, which fills the vehicle. There are 50,000 cubic meters of it in it.

The Euro Airship team plans to circumnavigate the Earth emission-free in 2026. The flight will take place near the equator at an altitude of about 3,5 miles.

Related content

We value your privacy

essanews.com is a part of Wirtualna Polska media company. Click "I ACCEPT AND GO TO THE WEBSITE" to give your consent to the use of automated technologies to collect and use data on the Internet, and to the processing of your personal data by Wirtualna Polska, IAB Trusted Partners (878 partners) and other Trusted Partners (405 partners), and to our sharing with the aforementioned Trusted Partners of the identifiers assigned to you for marketing purposes (including for automated matching of advertisements to your interests and for measuring their effectiveness) and for other purposes that we specify below. You can also make decisions about permissions in the Advanced settings.


Based on your consent, Wirtualna Polska, IAB Trusted Partners and other Trusted Partners will process your personal data collected on the Internet (including on e-commerce partners' websites), including through forms, such as IP addresses, your device identifiers and cookie identifiers, and other identifiers assigned to you and information about your activity on the Internet. The data will be processed for the following purpose: to store or access information on a device, use limited data to select advertising, create profiles for personalized advertising, use profiles to select personalized advertising, create profiles related to personalize content, use profiles to select personalized content, measure advertising performance, measure content performance, understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources, develop and improve services, use limited data to select content.


Within the framework of its functions and special functions, Wirtualna Polska may take the following actions:

  1. Match and combine data from other data sources
  2. Link different devices
  3. Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically
  4. Actively scan device characteristics for identification

The purposes of processing of your data by IAB Trusted Partners and other Trusted Partners are as follows:

  1. Store and/or access information on a device
  2. Use limited data to select advertising
  3. Create profiles for personalised advertising
  4. Use profiles to select personalised advertising
  5. Create profiles to personalise content
  6. Use profiles to select personalised content
  7. Measure advertising performance
  8. Measure content performance
  9. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources
  10. Develop and improve services
  11. Use limited data to select content
  12. Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors
  13. Deliver and present advertising and content
  14. Save and communicate privacy choices

Within the framework of the functions and special functions, our IAB Trusted Partners and Trusted Partners may take the following actions:

  1. Match and combine data from other data sources
  2. Link different devices
  3. Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically
  4. Actively scan device characteristics for identification

In order to take the above action, our IAB Trusted Partners and other Trusted Partners also need your consent, which you can give by clicking "I ACCEPT AND GO TO THE WEBSITE" or make a decision regarding the consent in Advanced settings.


The purposes of processing your data without a need to obtain your consent based on the legitimate interest of Wirtualna Polska and IAB Trusted Partners are stated, and the option to object to the processing, is available in Advanced settings.


The purposes, special purposes, features and special features of the data processing are described in detail in the Advanced Settings.


Here you can find the websites of our e-commerce partners, from which we may process your personal data on the basis of your consent.


The consent is voluntary and you can withdraw it at any time after reopening the settings window by clicking on the "Privacy Settings" link located in the footer of each website.


Please note that by giving your consent, your data may be transferred to our Trusted Partners in third countries, i.e. countries outside the European Economic Area.


You have the right to request access, rectification, deletion, restriction, transfer of data processing, file an objection, file a complaint with the regulatory authority under the terms of the Privacy Policy.


To change your privacy preferences, you can click on the Advanced Settings or "Privacy Settings" link located in the footer of each website where you can provide or withdraw consent or otherwise manage your choices. Detailed information about the processing of your personal data can be found in the privacy policy.