Solar Impulse Plane Suspends Trip Around the World Due to Battery Damage

— -- Two pilots who dream of circumnavigating the globe in a solar-powered plane said today they are suspending their journey after the aircraft sustained irreversible battery damage during its record-breaking flight over the Pacific Ocean.

Solar Impulse 2 is planning an eight-month layover in Hawaii as the team assesses the issue with the goal of continuing the journey as early as April of next year, according to a statement on Solar Impulse's website.

During this time, the engineering team plans to conduct repairs and also study other options to help control the cooling and heating processes for long-haul flights.

The problem began on the first day of the plane's record-breaking five-day flight from Japan to Hawaii when the team said the battery system on board the aircraft began to overheat.

"The temperature of the batteries in a quick ascent/descent in tropical climates was not properly anticipated," the team said in a statement. "The damage to the batteries is not a technical failure or a weakness in the technology but rather an evaluation error in terms of the profile of the mission and the cooling design specifications of the batteries."

After five days of flying over the Pacific Ocean using only the power of sunlight, pilot Andre Borschberg landed safely at Kalaeloa, a small airport near Honolulu, on July 3.

The team said Borschberg broke the record for the longest solo flight. Solar Impulse has 17,000 solar cells, which gather sunlight to charge the plane's batteries. Solar Impulse 2 is designed to use stored energy during night flights.

The plane's wingspan is 72 meters, making it larger than a Boeing 747, yet lighter than an SUV. It will be parked in a University of Hawaii hangar at the Kalaeloa airport while undergoing maintenance.