Qatar Executive (QE) jointly with the ‘One More Orbit’ team has made history by breaking the world circumnavigation speed record for any aircraft flying over the North and South poles.

The journey that marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing saw the QE Gulfstream G650ER depart from the Cape Canaveral, the home of Nasa, on July 9, to begin its pole to pole mission.

The ‘One More Orbit’ team on board comprised former NASA astronaut, Terry Virts, and Chairman of Action Aviation, Hamish Harding.

The QE crew consisted of pilots Jacob Obe Bech, Jeremy Ascough and Yevgen Vasylenko, engineer Benjamin Reuger and flight attendant Magdalena Starowicz.

The mission was split into four parts: the NASA shuttle landing facility in Florida to Astana, Astana to Mauritius, Mauritius to Chile and Chile back to Florida, with refueling pit stops in each location.

The aircraft landed at the Kennedy Space Centre on July 11, successfully setting a new world record of flying pole to pole in 46 hours and 40 minutes.

The Qatar Executive #G650ER touches down after doing @One_More_Orbit mission around the globe.#QEwithOMO #OMO #OneMoreOrbit pic.twitter.com/618nninO9E

— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) July 11, 2019

“Qatar Executive, together with the One More Orbit team, has made history. A mission like this takes a huge amount of planning as we need to factor in the flight paths, fuel stops, potential weather conditions and make plans for all possibilities,” commented HE Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, who was present at the landing.

“Many people behind the scenes worked tirelessly to ensure this mission was a success and I am very proud that we broke the world record – a first for Qatar Executive – which will be certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and Guinness World Records," he added.

Harding said, “Our mission, titled One More Orbit, pays homage to the Apollo 11 moon landing achievement, by highlighting how humans push the boundaries of aeronautics.”

“We did this during the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Apollo 11 moon landing; it is our way of paying tribute to the past, the present, and the future of space exploration,” he said.

The #OneMoreOrbit mission has utilized the great skills and experience of many people across the planet and all together we set the world record! Our mission took 46 hrs 39 mins 38 secs and landed at 12:12:23 GMT (at an average speed of 860.95 km or 534.97 mph) #OneMoreOrbit pic.twitter.com/0bOXDLkARF

— Hamish Harding (@ActionAviation0) July 12, 2019

Qatar Executive is the world’s largest owner-operator of the G650ER aircraft; the fastest ultra-long-range business jet in the industry.

It is powered by two Rolls-Royce BR725 engines, the latest and most advanced member of the BR700 engine series.

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Cover and Inline Image Credit: Twitter/ @ActionAviation0