The experimental solar-powered plane, piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, took off at 3:00 am (1000 GMT), live footage showed, for the latest stage of its around-the-world flight aimed at drawing attention to clean energy technologies.

The flight to the city of Tulsa is expected to take 17 and a half hours.

The plane is set to make one or two more stops in the United States before finally landing in New York City, in the latest leg of their journey that kicked off on March 9, 2015.

“The objective is to reach New York as soon as possible!” the Solar Impulse 2 team said in a statement Wednesday, though it is not clear when they might reach the city.

After crossing the United States, Piccard and his teammate Andre Borschberg are set to make a trans-Atlantic flight to Europe, from where they plan to make their way back to their point of departure in Abu Dhabi.

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