China's large-scale unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) solely powered by solar energy completed its maiden flight on Saturday, China Media Group reported
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The UAV, named "Qimingxing-50," which means "Morning star-50" in English, was developed by a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
It took off at 5:50 p.m. and flew for 26 minutes before landing smoothly at 6:16 p.m. in northwest China's Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. The drone was in good condition, with all the systems operating normally, marking a complete success of the maiden flight.
"Qimingxing-50" is the first high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) UAV developed by AVIC. Such UAVs usually fly at an altitude of 15-20 km with a low speed. It's also the company's first large UAV with double-fuselage layout.
The fully electric-driven drone, like a satellite, can fly at high altitude for a long period of time continuously, powered by clean solar energy.
It can perform tasks such as high-altitude reconnaissance, forest fire monitoring, atmospheric environment monitoring, geographic mapping and communication relay
.The Qimingxing-50 is the first high-altitude low-speed drone with an ultrahigh aspect ratio developed by the Chinese aviation industry, the first large drone to use a twin-fuselage configuration, and also the first all-electric large unmanned aerial vehicle platform with solar energy as the only power source. Using efficient, clean, and green solar energy, it can stay in the air for a long time to perform high-altitude reconnaissance, forest fire monitoring, atmospheric environment monitoring, geographic mapping, communications relay and other tasks, AVIC said.
Thanks to its capability to conduct very long endurance flights in near space, the Qimingxing-50 drone can essentially become a substitute for satellites, a Chinese aerospace expert told the Global Times on Sunday, requesting anonymity.
Satellite services are not always available due to the limited numbers of satellites and relatively fixed schedules of overhead passes. For time-sensitive missions, near-space drones can offset those disadvantages, the expert said, noting that satellite services could also get sabotaged in wartime, so near-space drones can replace them in that scenario.
An aerial drone is also cheaper than a satellite, the expert said.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force has already publicly displayed the WZ-8 high-altitude reconnaissance drone capable of near-space flight at high speed but with short endurance. The Qimingxing-50's long endurance and low speed characteristics could be a good complementation, observers said.
The successful maiden flight of the Qimingxing-50 lays a solid foundation for the development and type establishment of large solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles in China's aviation industry, which will further promote the development of key technologies in the country's new energy field, composite material field and flight control field, and enhance China's ability to perform tasks in near space and over far oceans and seas, according to AVIC.
The Chinese aviation industry will seize the opportunity to increase investment in innovative research and development, accelerating the development of large solar-powered unmanned aircraft, as well as continue to lead the development of independent innovation in related industries, AVIC said.
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