Iberia to livestream the total solar eclipse from 35,000 feet. The Spanish airline will transform one of its Airbus A321XLR flights into an airborne observation platform to broadcast the August 12 total solar eclipse live while supporting a scientific research mission. Iberia will turn one of its scheduled flights into an airborne scientific observatory to follow the total solar eclipse on August 12 from an altitude of more than 35,000 feet. The airline will livestream the event through its social media channels, allowing viewers around the world to experience the eclipse from a unique vantage point above the clouds.
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The live broadcast will be made possible by Iberia’s high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi connectivity, which is being progressively introduced across the airline’s fleet. The flight will also serve as an aerial laboratory for the Shelios scientific project, whose researchers will use the exceptional viewing conditions at cruising altitude to study the Sun’s corona and other astronomical phenomena associated with the eclipse.
- ✈ The mission will be operated as flight IB1473, a flight number chosen in tribute to the birth year of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
- ✈ The operation will be conducted using an Airbus A321XLR departing from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport at 6:45 p.m.
- ✈ The route has been carefully planned to cross the area of maximum eclipse visibility over Spain’s Palencia province.
- ✈ The flight crew will be led by Captain Javier Lopera Alcalá and First Officer Javier Meana Fernández, who also specializes in astrophysics.
On board, a team of scientists from the Shelios project, led by astronomer Miquel Serra-Ricart, Scientific Director of Light Bridges and researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, will conduct observations throughout the event. From cruising altitude, the researchers will be able to observe the solar corona without many of the limitations caused by clouds and Earth’s atmosphere while also recording the apparent positions of planets such as Venus and Mercury, along with stars that will become visible during totality.
According to Serra-Ricart, the observation conditions at cruising altitude will provide valuable scientific data for astronomical research. Diego Fernández, Iberia’s Director of Strategy, Transformation and Sustainability, said the initiative demonstrates the airline’s commitment to combining innovation, aviation, and science to support projects with a positive impact on society.
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A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, completely obscuring the solar disk for observers located within the path of totality. The August 12 eclipse will be particularly significant for Spain, as it will be the first total solar eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula since 1912, making it one of the country’s most important astronomical events in more than a century.
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