Northwest China - Recent
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1. Staff pushing solar-powered plane on runway
2. Various of take-off
3. Various of staff at control room
4. Various of photos of plane
5. Plane in air
6. Flight control (with control screen partially blurred)
7. Plane at near space
8. Plane flying at night

9. Staff in control room cheering after test flight (with control screen partially blurred)

China's first domestically designed large solar-powered unmanned plane reached above 20,000 meters in altitude on its test flight in the country's northwest regions recently.

By using solar power as its energy source, the plane can stay in air for months or even years in the future.

With its maximum flight altitude, the plane can serve as a more flexible, economic satellite operating in near space for both civic and military use, including major natural disasters warning, sea area monitoring, emergency rescue, anti-terrorism and peacekeeping, and extending Wi-Fi signals, mobile communication or digital broadcast signals to remote areas.