Public Media from Michigan State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Impossible Flight

Season 45 Episode 3 | 1hr 53m 30s

On March 9, 2015, Solar Impulse II took off from Abu Dhabi on one of the greatest aviation adventures of our time: the first solar-powered flight around the world. Together with a team of brilliant engineers, two visionary pilots—Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg—designed and built Solar Impulse from scratch, even though top airplane manufacturers told them it would be “impossible to control.”

Aired: 01/02/18 | Expires: 01/27/21
National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust and PBS viewers.
Extras
These massive walls of water may be far more common than we once believed.
The “butterfly effect” is often cited in pop culture, but it’s actually rooted in physics and chaos.
Time isn’t the same for everyone, according to Einstein.
Microsoft's breakthrough in quantum computing could have a huge impact on science, and our future.
Restoring Notre Dame wasn’t just about stone and stained glass.
Wendy Suzuki joins Hakeem to explore anxiety, exercise, and connection as tools for a better brain.
Steve Brusatte joins Hakeem to talk T. rex, bird origins, and consulting on Jurassic World.
Dark matter may be primordial black holes from the Big Bang. David Kaiser explains.
Follow the Artemis mission to bring humanity back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo.
Follow the Artemis mission to bring humanity back to the Moon for the first time since Apollo.