BREAKING NEWS #Si2 has just taken off to #SF with @BertrandPiccard at the commands. The adventure is back on! Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi in March 2015 and has since made stops in Oman, India, Myanmar, China and Japan. It's a single-seater aircraft -- Piccard and colleague André Borschberg have been taking turns in the cockpit. Borschberg broke the record for the longest-duration solo flight last summer, after captaining the Impulse 2 for four days, 21 hours and 51 minutes.

Solar Impulse II, piloted by Bertrand Piccard, is taking off this morning from Phoenix, Arizona, heading to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The trip in the solar-powered airplane will take 17 hours and 50 minutes. Traveling by car would take only 15 hours and 46 minutes. This is the 11th leg in a round-the-world trip that started last year with the goal of promoting sustainable resource development. You can watch the flight as it happens in the live stream below, or follow updates on the Solar Impulse website.

In this photo provided by Solar Impulse 2, the solar powered plane, piloted by Swiss pioneer Bertrand Piccard takes off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Monday, June 20, 2016, on its way to Southern Spain.

Created by Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard and Swiss engineer Bertrand Borschberg, the Solar Impulse 2 has a wingspan the size of a Boeing 747 and features more than 17,000 solar panels. In 2019, the design was purchased by U.S.-Spanish startup Skydweller Aero who plans on turning the Impulse 2 into an autonomous drone similar to an orbital satellite.

In ancient Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of Daedulus who dared to fly too close to the sun on wings of feather and wax made by his father in spite of Daedulus' warning. The heat from the sun melted the wax and Icarus fell to his death.