Update: New world record!

Update nov. 11th 2010:

New video of the worldrecord flight online!

Find more videos in our YouTube Channel.

27.10.2010 - 28.10.2010, Future of Flight Aviation Center in Mukilteo, WA, USA

AscTec and our partner LaserMotive, an independent R&D company specializing in laser power beaming and winner of the 2009 NASA-sponsored Power Beaming Competition to set a new world record today for laser-powered flight at the Future of Flight Aviation Center.

In front of an audience of select dignitaries, guests and media, LaserMotive flew the free-flying quadrocopter "Asctec Pelican" for a record 12 hours, 26 minutes and 56.9 seconds - the longest flight of a small UAV on record. LaserMotive powered the AscTec Pelican with a proprietary system it has developed using laser power beaming - the wireless transfer of energy over distances using lasers. Ascending Technologies developed the charging electronics and the autonomous control for the AscTec Pelican to let it fly without any human interactions within a square of 2 by 2 meters during its record flight. The impressive performance showed the reliability and robustness of all systems. Theoretically the flight could have continued indefinitely.

"It was a scientifically exciting, yet a little boring experience to bee safety pilot over night" Michael Achtelik, CEO of Ascending Technologies GmbH said: "We just had to monitor the telemetry data while the UAV was flying autonomously by our onboard computer supported by the laser tracking system of LaserMotive".

"Today's flight represents an importance achievement for the future of flight," said Tom Nugent, president and CEO of LaserMotive. "What LaserMotive and Ascending Technologies accomplished today has never been done in the history of flight, and the potential impact is enormous, not only as an endless source of power for air and space craft but for opening up new capabilities for them as well."

"We are pleased to have been partner in this historic occasion," said Jan Stumpf, CEO of Ascending Technologies. "All systems worked perfectly during the night long experiment. We are very happy that our AscTec Pelican proved its quality and flexibility again in a very demanding experiment."

Ascending Technologies GmbH is based in Krailling, close to Munich, in Germany. It was founded 2007 by 4 engineering students and has revolutionized the flying robotics research by providing unmatched UAVs to R&D groups worldwide.

Headquartered in Kent, Wash., LaserMotive is a privately-held R&D company specializing in laser power beaming for commercial applications. The company was co-founded in 2006 by Dr. Jordin Kare, one of the foremost experts on laser propulsion, and Tom Nugent, former Research Director for LiftPort Group.

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