Titan Aerospace has developed a solar drone, the Titan Solara, that is said to be able to continuously stay in flight for 5 years. With 3,000 solar cells covering the upper wing surface, the stabilizer and the elevator the drone with a 50 foot wingspan can generate up to 7 kilowatts of power; with any unused energy being stored in lithium ion batteries that are located inside the wing.
The titan Solara has autopilot capabilities that can fly, take off and land autonomously. But using the high speed radio links it is possible to transmit the telemetry data back to the ground. Flying at 65,000 feet the Solara will fly above most aircraft or any weather that could block the sun from reaching the drone. The Solara is marketed as an "atmospheric satellite", meaning it could deliver satellite services without leaving the atmosphere. The Solara looks to have a bright future, with companies like Facebook even having interest in using this drone.
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