China’s large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) powered only by clean solar(太阳的) energy completed its first flight. The UAV, named “Qimingxing-50,” which means “Morning star-50” in English, was developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It is the first high-altitude(海拔) long-endurance (HALE) UAV developed by AVIC. Such UAVs usually fly at an altitude of 15-20 km at a low speed.
The Qimingxing-50 took off at 5:50 pm on September 3, 2022 from an airport in northwest China’s Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. It flew for 26 minutes before landing smoothly. The unmanned aerial vehicle was in good condition, with all the systems working normally. That marks the complete success of the first flight.
According to Zhu Shengli, head designer of the Qimingxing-50, the unmanned aerial vehicle can fly at high altitudes for a long period of time. It can perform tasks such as high-altitude reconnaissance(侦察), forest fire monitoring(监测), atmospheric environment monitoring, geographic mapping and communication relay(通信中继).
Wu Peixin is an aviation(航空) industry observer in Beijing. She said that there are no clouds above altitudes of 20 km and that the winds are not likely to change so the unmanned aerial vehicle is able to make full use of its solar cells to produce power. As long as the system works, the unmanned aerial vehicle can remain in the air for as long as required.
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