A solar-powered plane could stay in the air for months

A strange-looking aircraft with more than 17,000 solar panels on it gave the world a taste of what air travel might look like in the future in 2016. It had the wingspan of a Boeing 747, yet barely weighed as much as an SUV and successfully circled the globe without consuming any fuel.
The solar-powered aircraft, known as Solar Impulse 2, was the creation of Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard and Swiss engineer Bertrand Borschberg. It had achieved its objective after its record-breaking flight, but it is now receiving new life.

In 2019, Skydweller Aero, a US-Spanish startup, purchased it with the intention of converting it into the first commercially viable "pseudo-satellite" that can perform orbiting satellite functions with greater flexibility and less environmental impact.
According to Robert Miller, CEO of Skydweller, "a pseudo-satellite is an aeroplane that stays aloft, let's say, indefinitely." "That translates to 30, 60, 90, or even a year. It can therefore perform pretty about anything you may think a satellite could." As part of that, telecommunications services, Earth imaging, disaster response, and resource monitoring are provided.
Skydweller spent months modifying Solar Impulse 2 after purchasing it, and in November 2020, it made a second flight. In the twelve test flights that have since been accomplished in the warm weather of southeast Spain. Miller states, "We're in the process of making it into a drone." "The pilot is still on board for safety, but we can now fly the plane completely on our own,"