An electric aircraft with a mobile laboratory fitted with flexible solar panels will be presented at the Skolkovo Technopark. In 2020, famous traveler Fyodor Konyukhov will make the first nonstop flight around the world aboard a solar-powered plane.
This plane is the world’s first flying research lab that employs solar panels to generate electrical power. The project is called Albatros. The technopark will feature a real assembled aircraft ready to take off, the Skolkovo press service told Invest Foresight.
The publication’s source said that the creator of the plane is Mikhail Lifshitz, chairman of the board of the engine manufacturer ROTEC. The electric batteries used on the plane can later be commercialized and installed on satellites.
The laboratory aircraft has various detectors that will collect scientific data during flight. The work of the solar modules located under the wings will be analyzed during flights in Russia’s various climate zones. Developers say that the project will give a boost to the development of new aircraft powered by electric energy.