Solar Impulse completed its historic flight over the US

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse experimental aircraft made its first flight over the United States. The aircraft runs entirely on solar energy. The Solar Impulse is the first aircraft of its kind to fly both day and night without the use of equivalent fuel. He began his journey on May 3 in California and completed it on July 6 in New York. Pilots and creators Bertrand Piccard and André Borchberg took turns flying the single-seat aircraft, which is powered by 12,000 silicon solar cells and has the wingspan of a giant airliner. The next step will be to travel around the world in 2015.

(Total 24 photos)

1. Workers load the wing of a Swiss solar-powered Solar Impulse aircraft onto a Boeing 747 at Payerne Airport in Geneva. Solar Impulse HB-SIA will be flown to San Francisco for a series of flights from the West to the East Coast of the United States.

2. Crew members put Solar Impulse back into the hangar after a test flight at Moffett Field, in Mountain View, California. The aircraft is made of carbon fiber and powered entirely by solar panels.

3. A bird flies under a Solar Impulse aircraft during a test flight at Moffett Field, in Mountain View, California.

4. Solar Impulse flies over the Golden Gate Bridge during a test flight. The aircraft is powered by some 12,000 photovoltaic cells that span its massive wings and charge batteries, allowing it to fly day and night without the need for jet fuel.

5. Solar Impulse is in the hangar, which was originally built for airships, in Moffett Field.

6. Journalists gather at dawn around Solar Impulse at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field before the start of the test flight.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard sits in a Solar Impulse before takeoff during a test flight at Moffett Field.

8. The Solar Impulse plane takes off from Moffett Field as part of the first leg of the Across America 2013 mission.

9. Solar Impulse flies from San Francisco Bay to Phoenix.

10. Paul Johnson from Tempa, Arizona, photographs Solar Impulse during a stop at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

11. Solar Impulse, piloted by André Borschberg, stands at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport before the start of the second leg of the Across America 2013 tour.

12. Solar Impulse, piloted by Andre Borshberg, takes off from Phoenix. It will land next at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

13. Pilot Bertrand Picard, pilot Andre Borschberg (left) and ground crew member Daniel Ramseyer (right) make final preparations for the third leg of the Across America tour in Dallas.

14. A Solar Impulse aircraft is being towed from a hangar onto the runway at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

15. Solar Impulse is in a hangar at the airport in Dallas. Its wingspan reaches 60 meters, which is similar to the Boeing 747.

16. Solar Impulse, piloted by Bertrand Picard, lands at Lambert St. Louis International Airport. The plane took over 20 hours to fly from Dallas to St. Louis.

17. Solar Impulse has its own inflatable hangar for parking.

18. Co-pilot Andre Broshberg watches as Solar Impulse with Bertrand Picard at the helm lands at Dulles International Airport, Virginia.

19. One of the two Solar Impulse pilots, Andre Broshberg, is interviewed by a reporter at the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, Virginia.

20. Solar Impulse is preparing to take off on the final leg of the mission from Dulles to New York.

21. Solar Impulse takes off from Dulles International Airport.

22. A Solar Impulse plane with Andre Broshberg on board is approaching Kennedy International Airport in New York.

23. Solar Impulse lands at Kennedy International Airport in New York. Due to a tear in the tissue of the left wing, the landing was made several hours early.

24. Solar Impulse Chairman and Pilot Bertrand Piccard (left) and Solar Impulse CEO and Pilot Andre Borschberg greet the gathering at New York's Kennedy International Airport. The solar-powered Solar Impulse experimental aircraft has completed its journey across the United States despite a tear in its wing tissue.