The project team under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has announced that the country’s first near-space solar drone, called Caihong (CH), or Rainbow, has successfully completed a flight at an altitude of 20 kilometers, or nearly 12 and a half miles.

The UAS, which has a wingspan of 45 meters, flew “smoothly in near space for over 15 hours under control, finishing its scheduled path,” and then landed safely.

Through the Xinhua news agency, Shi Wen, chief engineer of the project, says, “with the development of the CH UAV, new technologies and products such as graphene-related materials, advanced solar cells and innovative energy storage methods will also be developed and these will further promote China's aviation industry.”

Thanks to being equipped with solar panels, which make it environmentally-friendly since it does not generate any air pollution, the solar-powered UAS is capable of performing well in the near space region, which lies 20 to 100 kilometers above sea level, despite the fact that this region “contains thin air that reduces the performance of traditional fuel-powered aircraft engines.”

In the future, there is the possibility that this type of aircraft might be able to fly continuously for months, possibly even longer, according to Li Guangjia, the director of the project.

As a part of the project plan for the UAS, in the future, it will perform as a “quasi-satellite,” as it will be able to “supplant some functions of telecommunication satellites in providing data relay services.”

The UAS is also expected to provide remote areas and islands with convenient mobile telecommunication and Internet access, as it used as an “airborne mobile Wi-Fi hub.”

Other possible functions of the UAS could include forestry and agricultural surveying, and early warning and real-time monitoring of disasters.