Aqua superPower is the first company to supply AC and DC charging stations for electric yachts to select marinas at no cost. Aqua superPower manages the grid connection and the installation process, and then the company owns, operates and maintains the stations, as well as the back-end network, mostly via the cloud. Each charging station is connected to Aqua superPower’s office, and customers pay Aqua superPower directly for usage. Aqua superPower seeks installation sites that are popular with commercial or recreational marine traffic, and geographic areas with higher rates of adoption of electric-powered vessels.

Safety is always paramount when dealing with high-voltage electricity. “We explored various charging protocols and adopted the universal electric-vehicle Combined Charging System, which uses connectors to provide power up to 350 kilowatts,” says Alex Bamberg, CEO of Aqua superPower. “This plug is particularly suited for marine applications, as it doesn’t go live until it has made an electronic handshake with the battery. If it’s dropped into water prior to connection with the boat, it’s not live.”

Aqua superPower’s app can help customers find charging stations, check availability, provide real-time charging management and tackle billing. As of now, most charging stations are in the United Kingdom or other areas of Europe; however, Aqua superPower is making US inroads.

Supercharged

Aqua superPower’s charging stations deliver AC power (up to 22 kilowatts) and DC power (up to 350 kW; their typical output is 150 kW). While recharging 80 percent of a typical electric boat’s battery takes eight to 10 hours on the AC charger, the amount of time needed reportedly can be reduced to 20 to 60 minutes using the DC supercharger. Aqua superPower station equipment is IP65-rated.

Take the next step: aqua-superpower.com

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Few mousetraps better lend themselves to innovation than boats, and countless brilliant minds have devoted rich careers to making boating better, safer and more enjoyable. Each year, Yachting hails some of the most beyond-the-box thinkers with its annual celebration of innovation. Meet the Class of 2023.

Donald L. Blount 

As a boy in Roanoke, Virginia, Donald Blount dreamed of designing steam locomotives. He enrolled in Virginia Tech’s engineering department in 1954, but while he was there, Norfolk and Western Railway switched to diesel engines. Blount instead landed an internship at David Taylor Model Basin, one of the world’s largest ship-design test facilities, with ties to the U.S. military. Rather than returning to college, he accepted a full-time, non- degree technical position there in 1956.

By 1959, Blount had tested into a job as a naval architect. By 1963, he had completed his mechanical-engineering degree at The George Washington University. He spent the next 27 years researching and directing programs centering around emerging hydrodynamic technologies for the U.S. Navy.

In 1988, he founded Donald L. Blount and Associates, which provided naval-architecture and marine-engineering consulting services relating to specialized, high-speed motorized vessels. Some of the best-known yachts he was involved with include the 222-foot Fincantieri Destriero, which plied the Atlantic at a pace of 53.09 knots in 1991, and the 136-foot Izar Fortuna, which clocked 68 knots during sea trials.

Gibbs & Cox acquired DLBA in 2015, the same year Blount was recognized with a medal from the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He died last July at age 87.

Evoy and Flux Marine 

Electric propulsion is making inroads, and two companies on opposite shores of the Atlantic have been developing this power solution for outboards.

Evoy is based in Florø, Norway. The father-and-son team of Gunnar and Leif Stavøstrand started the company in 2018. Evoy’s Polarcirkel 860 demo boat launched in summer 2019. By that fall, its 400 hp inboard electric motor raised international eyebrows by hitting 55 knots. Evoy’s first products reached consumers in 2020, and the company now produces inboard and outboard motors. It also produces high-performance, liquid-cooled batteries that are available in 63, 126 or 189 kWh packs. The latter two are available in 120-plus, 200-plus, 300-plus and 400-plus hp packages that can power vessels ranging from 15-foot skiffs to performance-minded 50-footers.

Flux Marine, based in Bristol, Rhode Island, was founded by Ben Sorkin, Daylin Frantin and Jon Lord. The idea to build electric outboards came from an engineering project that Sorkin started at Princeton University (Class of 2017). The three earned grants, including from The National Science Foundation, and investors that allowed them to turn concept into consumer product.

The company currently offers three outboard motors, available in 15, 40 and 70 hp models. Alternatively, customers can purchase boat packages that sport up to 100 hp and deliver up to 75 nautical miles of range.

FarSounder 

While mariners have long enjoyed the ability to scan horizons with radar and probe the depths with sonar, the civilian marine world had a serious blind spot in front of the bow. This started changing in 2001, when University of Rhode Island professor James Miller and Matthew Zimmerman, then a student of ocean engineering, started exploring ways of using sonar to prevent accidents. The two proved their concept with a model of a forward-looking sonar in 2002, and then spent two years refining and developing it before offering FarSounder’s first commercial product in 2004.

The FS-3 had a maximum range of about 1,000 feet, a 90-degree field of view and a two-second refresh rate. Today, FarSounder offers three products—the Argos 350, Argos 500 and Argos 1000—with ranges of around 1,150 feet to 3,280 feet, fields of view of 60 to 120 degrees, and refresh rates of roughly one to three times per second.

These products allow mariners to thread carefully past Caribbean coral heads, negotiate poorly charted anchorages, tiptoe past high-latitude ice and more. FarSounder’s forward-looking-sonar systems have become go-to equipment for many expedition-grade yachts.

Today, FarSounder is also working on software that lets customers create their own 3D cartography. 

Gary Burrell and Min Kao 

Theirs is a classic story of foresight. In the early 1980s, Gary Burrell, an electrical engineer, was working at King Radio Corp. in Olathe, Kansas. He headhunted Min Kao, a younger electrical engineer who had been working for a defense contractor. The U.S. government was then building what would become the Global Positioning System, and after 1983’s Korean Air Lines Flight 007 disaster, President Reagan signed legislation making GPS publicly available.

Burrell and Kao saw the potential of civilian GPS and founded ProNav in 1989. They rebranded to Garmin in 1991. Their timing was impeccable: The GPS100 hit chandlery shelves in 1990. Four years later, Garmin delivered the first combined chart plotter and sonar, and the first color GPS chart plotter.

As the market shifted, so did the company. In the late 1990s, Garmin began making a GPS-based navigation system for cars, culminating in the Nüvi systems of the mid-2000s. In 2013, the company introduced GPS-based smartwatches.

And the company continued investing heavily in marine electronics.Garmin’s current product portfolio includes onboard audio, multibeam sonars, 24-inch touchscreen multifunction displays, radars with Doppler technology, and more.

Scout Boats 

Boatbuilder Steve Potts joined the marine industry when he was 14 years old, starting on the ladder’s lowliest rung. He scaled his way to plant manager at American Sail before starting his own company in 1988. His first creation was a 14-footer based on a classic 1960s boat called the Scout that he had worked on.

Potts’ first keel-up design was a simple, capable fishing boat with a high level of finish. Potts began gaining traction with dealers in the Carolinas, but then Hurricane Hugo demolished his manufacturing operations in 1989, forcing him to rebuild from the ground up.

It paid off: Scout has become an innovator in top-quality center consoles and has obtained several patents. Scout’s innovations include a reverse-shoebox hull/deck design, which purportedly prevents water ingress at the hull/deck joint; and the Air Assist, NuV3 and Scout Stepped Hull Technology hull forms. Patents include the company’s T-Top/Glass Enclosure, which increases helm visibility; there’s also a patent-pending Electronically Actuated Articulating Rocket Launcher, which raises or lowers the boat’s hardtop-mounted rocket launchers; and the anchor camera.

Scout currently builds center consoles from 17 to 53 feet length overall.

Silent-Yachts 

Heike and Michael Köhler know life offshore. That happens when you amass 75,000-plus nautical miles over some 6,000 days of cruising. One major conclusion they derived was that boaters needed a better, cleaner way of locomoting and generating DC power than by burning fossil fuels.

The couple spent 2004 to 2009 experimenting with and evaluating a range of alternative power sources that would generate self-renewable propulsion and onboard electricity. In 2009, the duo built the Solarwave 46, which was the world’s first electric-powered bluewater catamaran that could produce sustainable juice via solar panels. A vigorous shakedown was required, so the Köhlers spent the next five years cruising and proving the concept.

Once convinced, they founded Silent-Yachts. The company launched the Silent 64 in 2016. In 2018, that boat crossed the Atlantic in 16 days at a steady and emissions-free rate of 6 knots.

Today, Silent-Yachts offers all-electric yachts from 60 to 120 feet length overall, an 82-foot hybrid catamaran and a 13-foot electric tender. Additionally, the company collaborated with Ed-TEC to create the Silent Speed 28, which reportedly delivers 60-plus-knot speeds with innovative features such as foils controlled by artificial intelligence.

Silent-Yachts is also working to create Silent-Resorts, a Bahamas destination that will cater to electric vessels.

Future Potential

Sampriti Bhattacharyya, Reo Baird and America’s Cup-winning naval architect Paul Bieker are advancing the concept of vessel hydrofoils with the Navier 27. This all-electric foiling powerboat has a reported range of up to 75 nautical miles at 20 knots, with autonomous navigation capabilities. The Navier team is helping to change hydrofoils from being thought of as oddball America’s Cup stuff into being nearly mainstream technology that should increase efficiency.

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French-based builder Fountaine Pajot has teamed up with the charter firm Dream Yacht Worldwide to launch the Aura 51 Smart Electric as the first model in a collection of electric-powered catamarans.

The Aura 51 Smart Electric is a zero-emissions design that stores energy in two lithium battery banks. It will become available for charter in Italy starting in April, with about two dozen electric yachts expected to join the Dream fleet by spring 2024. Ten of them will be sailing catamarans, and a dozen will be monohull sailing yachts from Dufour, which is part of the Fountaine Pajot Group.

“By partnering and supporting the research and development of electric yachts, we can continue to make sailing accessible to people around the world but with a lower impact on our seas and environment,” Loïc Bonnet, CEO and founder of Dream Yacht Group, stated in a press release. “Being environmentally conscious is central to our mission to protect our planet and oceans, and we are confident that our charter clients will support this endeavor.”

How big of an eco-difference can these types of boats make? Fountaine Pajot says only 20 percent of the carbon footprint comes from producing the boats. Some 80 percent comes from the use of the boats.

Where to learn more: go to fountaine-pajot.com or dreamyachtcharter.com

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Riva Yachts in Italy has unveiled a prototype for its first all-electric runabout, the 27-foot El-Iseo.

The boat is a fully electric version of the Iseo model, powered by a Parker GVM310 electric engine. The El-Iseo was unveiled in a private preview at the Monaco Yacht Club and then made its public debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in early September.

The El-Iseo has a sterndrive setup with the engine producing 250 kW and 300 kW peak power. According to Riva, the prototype boat has a cruising speed of 25 knots and a top speed of 40 knots, “with an acceleration curve significantly steeper than that of a similarly sized boat powered by an internal combustion engine. “

Riva says the El-Iseo can offer as much as 10 hours of navigation in economy mode. The batteries, by Podium Advanced Technologies, have a capacity of 150 kWh and are configured in two independent blocks between the engine and stern seating.

Xenta collaborated on the project to integrate onboard systems such as transmission, throttles and controls.

What else is new at Riva? At the Cannes Yachting Festival, the builder also hosted the premieres of the Riva 102’ Corsaro Super, the Riva 76’ Bahamas Super and the Riva Anniversario.

Take the next step: go to riva-yacht.com

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Soel Yachts in the Netherlands has released plans for the Soel 62, a solar-electric yacht that, the builder says, can achieve a top-end speed of 14 knots.

The yacht has an integrated solar roof made of 44 panels that generate 17.6 kWp of solar energy, which is equivalent to 50 kWh. According to the company, its “active cooling system for solar panels” is able to harvest 15 percent to 20 percent more energy than other designs.

That amount of energy feeds into one of two propulsion systems that owners can select, called “Cruise” and “Power.”

The Cruise setup has a pair of 100 kW electric motors, 282 kWh of lithium battery capacity and a 100 kW DC generator, reportedly allowing for a cruising speed of 8 knots and a top speed of 10 knots.

The Power setup has a pair of 200 kW electric motors, 424 kWh of lithium battery capacity and a 150 kW DC generator, reportedly providing a cruising speed of 10 knots and a top-end speed of 14 knots.

Both setups have DC fast-charging capabilities, as well as normal AC single and three-phase shore power charging.

What are the guest spaces like? The interior has four staterooms for as many as nine guests, as well as quarters for three crew. There’s an open galley with a bar, along with a cockpit that has a day head and barbecue.

Take the next step: go to soelyachts.com

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Eco-friendly cruising ideas, products and options are now popping up everywhere in the marine world. From yacht construction to engine manufacturing, some of the biggest-name players are making announcement after announcement about ways they’re working to make cruising greener.

For instance, take Heesen Yachts, the Netherlands-based mega-yacht builder that started construction on the 164-foot Project Oslo24 in October. That yacht will reportedly have a hybrid drivetrain that can operate on diesel, electric or a combination of both.

“We were the first shipyard who dared to take the financial risk of building hybrid yachts on speculation, and today, all our yachts are available with hybrid propulsion as an option,” Heesen chief commercial officer Friso Visser said in announcing the build’s start. “‘Be the change you want to see in the world’ is our mantra.”

That phrase could also be the mantra at Hynova Yachts in France, which is developing electro-hydrogen yachts. The Hynova 42, shown above, is now in the prototype phase with several versions available for preorder. They are intended to be used as stand-alone boats or as tenders to superyachts.

Also taking center stage right now is MAN, the big engine-maker, which this past September unveiled its Smart Hybrid Experience. The technology that MAN created can be combined with all the MAN marine engines in the current V-12 D2862, V-8 D2868 and inline six-cylinder D2676 series. According to the company, this makes MAN the first engine supplier to offer a complete hybrid system from a single source, arguably making it easier for boatbuilders to offer and install these kinds of systems.

And then there is Silent-Yachts, which recently announced the sale of Hull No. 1 of its flagship model: the Silent 100 Explorer. Between that yacht’s solar-electric drivetrain and battery-bank capacity, the company is projecting a top speed of 14 to 16 knots with world-cruising capabilities.

“This new sale coming after the sale of three of our 80-foot models in rapid succession confirms the market’s interest in the superior comfort of catamarans and solar energy for propulsion needs, as well as all the household appliances on board,” Silent-Yachts founder and CEO Michael Köhler said when announcing the deal to build the boat.

He might be right. But, for sure, no matter whether we’re talking hybrid-electric, electro-hydrogen or solar-electric yachts, the eco-conscious future is making its big entrance onto the yachting scene.  

Good Thinking: MAN Smart Hybrid Experience

MAN says its Smart Hybrid Experience components can be positioned on the diesel engine in front of the marine drive as well as separated from the diesel engine by an electromagnetic clutch. This setup lets yachtsmen switch operating modes without stopping the engine. The components work with the smallest inline six-cylinder engines and the most powerful V-12s.

A Look Ahead: Future Possibilities

Commercial tech tends to trickle down into recreational boating, so it’s notable that Torqeedo teamed with Italdraghe to create outboard, retractable propulsion for commercial vessels on inland waterways. The system combines Torqeedo’s Deep Blue lithium-ion battery with Italdraghe’s azimuth thrusters, allowing for emissions-free power with directional thrust.

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Candela, the Swedish firm that builds foiling electric boats, just raised about $27 million from investors led by EQT Ventures to triple its research and development, invest in production automation, and scale up production and sales worldwide.

Candela’s boats have computer-guided underwater hydrofoils that, according to the company, reduce energy consumption by 80 percent compared to conventional planing boats. The company says it has led electric boat sales in Europe since 2019 with its foiling C-7 boat. Its newer C-8 day cruiser reportedly received nearly 100 orders within three months of launching.

“We’ve shown that our hydrofoil tech is the key to make electric boats commercially viable,” Gustav Hasselskog, CEO of Candela, stated in a press release. “The investment from EQT Ventures will allow us to double down on our mission to speed up the transition to fossil fuel-free lakes and oceans. It took us four years to develop the technology and two more years to master it. Now we are ready to scale up fast.”

What else is Candela working on? Its P-30 ferry, which is reportedly the world’s first electric hydrofoil passenger vessel. Look for it to start carrying people near Stockholm in 2023.

Take the next step: go to candela.com

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Sunreef Yachts has launched the 80 Eco, an all-electric yacht with ultralight solar panels integrated into the hull sides, mast, superstructure and Bimini roof.

“We take a great step forward with this truly pioneering yacht,” Francis Lapp, founder and president of Sunreef Yachts, stated in a press release. “Renewable energy is the key element in the design of the Sunreef 80 Eco. Thanks to a revolutionary solar power system, hydro-generation and performance sails, the Sunreef 80 Eco provides full autonomy, relying on the sun, water and wind.”

The yacht’s wind-free propulsion comes from twin 180 kW electric engines. Under sail, the Sunreef 80 Eco recovers energy from the passive motion of the two propellers by way of a hydro-generation system.

Are other Sunreef Eco models available? Yes. The Eco line also includes a 50, 60, 70 and 100.

Take the next step: visit sunreef-yachts-eco.com

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The powerboat drivers idle near their starting lines off Monaco, waiting for the signal to punch the throttles. But they’re different from those who have raced here since 1904: These nine boats are competing in the Solar Class at the 2021 Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.

Every July, the Monaco Yacht Club organizes this race, which features next-generation technologies. This year, after five days of competition—including a 16-nautical-mile-lap race, slalom racing and a championship race—the Dutch-flagged Sunflare solar team claimed top honors in the sun-powered class.

Is their boat’s top speed of about 29 knots going to break any world speed records? No. But the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is a harbinger of recreational boating’s not-so-distant future.

That future, of being carbon-free, has been a long time coming. German inventor Moritz von Jacobi created an early electric boat in 1839, a 24-footer that could carry 14 passengers at roughly 2.6 knots. In 1882, Anthony Reckenzaun, an Austria-born electrical engineer, built Electricity, a steel-hulled launch with onboard batteries that was considered one of the first “practical” electric vessels. Other innovations continued until circa 1910, when Ole Evinrude’s gasoline-fired outboards began their own revolution.

Now, a century later, electric yachts harness technologies such as solar panels, electric drivetrains, lightweight construction in carbon fiber, lithium-based batteries and, in some cases, hydrofoils. These boats’ performance, comfort and range can rival some traditionally powered yachts—and they are clean and quiet. Much like Teslas, they sometimes also come with memorable acceleration curves.

Contemporary electric boats range in size and complexity. There are displacement monohulls such as Zin Boat’s 20-foot Z2T and Z2R and X Shore’s 26-foot Eelex 8000. There are hydrofoilers such as the upcoming Navier 27 (see sidebar). There are also boats like those contesting the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, as well as bluewater cruisers with multiple hulls.

“The first advantage is space,” says Michael Köhler, CEO of Silent-Yachts. “Catamarans have more surface area, which benefits the number of solar panels that can be installed.”

Other advantages of multiple hulls in electric-boat design include increased form stability (no ballasted keels) and reduced drag. “This low resistance means they’re better suited for electric motoring, as they need a lot less energy to move than monohulls,” says Nicolas Lapp, Sunreef Yachts’ strategy consultant for research and development.

One key to reducing a yacht’s energy requirements involves reducing its displacement. “The lighter the yacht, the less energy is needed to move it,” Köhler says. “For this reason, our yachts are made of lightweight carbon fiber.”

While all of the yachts discussed in this article can be charged via shore-supplied AC power, cruisers typically want greater autonomy. To that end, Silent-Yachts and Sunreef Yachts use solar panels. The team at Silent-Yachts specs its panels from California-based SunPower, while Sunreef Yachts created the marine industry’s first flexible solar panels, which are flush-mounted on hulls, masts and superstructures.

Aesthetics matter in yachting, and not everyone wants to cruise aboard a solar farm. Here, Lapp sees an opportunity. “If you want sustainability to be cool and attract the attention of new generations, the appeal of the product is something you cannot neglect,” he says. “Seamless integration of the solar panels was a way for us to prove that sustainability [can] generate green power [and] cool looks.” (After all, no one buys a Tesla because it looks like a Chevy.)

While the Caribbean and Mediterranean are blessed with abundant lumens, other world-class cruising grounds—say, the Pacific Northwest—aren’t equally illuminated. Because of this, electric cruising yachts typically also include redundant systems to ensure that the navigation lights stay on without heading to a marina.

“Every Silent yacht is equipped with a backup generator,” Köhler says. “This makes sure you never run out of energy, even when facing longer periods of unfavorable weather conditions.”

Rainy-day alternatives can include other green-power solutions. Sunreef Yachts typically specs dual wind generators atop its yachts’ rooftops. However, Lapp is realistic about their capabilities.

“Wind turbines can only supply a small fraction of the energy that our solar panels can,” he says, explaining that, in the right conditions, Sunreef’s panels typically generate 40 times more juice than the turbines. “What’s nice about working with wind is that your generators work all the time.” That includes under navigation, at the dock and throughout the night.

Energy sources aside, these experts say that high-quality batteries offering high performance are critical. Larger-capacity battery banks ensure more power reserves, but adding them can affect a yacht’s performance.

“The weight of the battery banks is also an important factor, as it can reduce or increase the overall efficiency,” Köhler says.

Battery performance is also critical for electric-powered coastal craft. One example is X Shore’s Eelex 8000, which has a high-performance 225 kW electric motor and dual 63 kWh lithium-ion batteries that can be charged anywhere there’s a power socket, or supercharged using the same technology as electric cars.

“The batteries can be charged in five to eight hours with three-phase power plugs and one to two hours with superchargers,” says Elias Wästberg, X Shore’s project manager.

While superchargers don’t exist in the middle of oceans, builders of electric-powered bluewater boats have already done this math. Silent-Yachts says its power catamarans are built to offer transatlantic autonomy, but a lot depends on how the owner uses the boat to minimize energy consumption.

“During sunny conditions, a general rule of thumb is that cruising at 6 knots maintains a balance between consumption and production,” Köhler says. “This basically means unlimited range. …The main thing that owners can do to increase range is reduce speed and turn off any appliances.”

This begs the question: Do owners need to downshift their expectations for onboard comfort when going electric?

“There’s no need to make any sacrifices or closely monitor energy levels,” Lapp says. “A lot of energy saving is done automatically. For example, at night, the air-conditioning system focuses solely on selected areas and cabins. … It consumes 70 percent less energy than most systems.”

And should the battery banks get thirsty, there’s always the generator.

Cruising with zero emissions might be a selling point for some customers, but one need not squeeze trees to embrace yachting’s future. “Running costs and maintenance levels are much lower compared to regular-motor catamarans,” Köhler says.

Then, there are unquantifiable returns. “You get to enjoy the absolute luxury of cruising in total silence and without disturbing the marine life around you,” Lapp says, adding that this experience helps owners create “better connections with the environment.”

Finally, there can also be the grin factor. “The Eelex 8000 can accelerate from 0 to 20 knots in 4.2 seconds,” Wästberg says. “The software captures 150 data points every second, allowing for real-time analytics of battery and engine performance, including temperature, humidity, pressure, location and the craft’s system status.”

While electric yachts boast some impressive capabilities, free lunches are unicorns. Electric yachts don’t emit carbon dioxide, but their carbon footprint likely deepens with stem-to-stern life-cycle assessments of their photovoltaic panels, carbon-fiber hulls and lithium-based batteries. Then there’s the inconvenient financial truth that all batteries have a finite number of charge cycles and eventually need refitting. Also, for now, diesel mechanics greatly outnumber certified electric-boat technicians, especially in remote locales.

Still, few people gifted with foresight would have bet against Evinrude’s outboards in the early 20th century. The same holds true for today’s electric boats. One only has to look at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge to realize that some of the brightest minds in the marine and technology fields are committed to a carbon-free future.

Couple this trend with the fact that electric yachts are already providing better performance and compromise-free cruising, and yachting’s future is looking bright (green).  

Navier 27

Navier Boats teamed up with Paul Bieker, an America’s Cup-winning naval architect and hydrofoil expert, to create the Navier 27. It delivers 30-plus-knot top speeds or a 75-nautical-mile range at slower speeds. While impressive, hydrofoils require active control, which is a crux that Navier solved by creating an autonomous foil-control system.

Sunreef 100 Eco

It’s one thing to build a solar-powered vessel for the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge; it’s a different challenge to build an electric 100-footer that can accommodate 12 guests and five crewmembers. The Sunreef 100 Eco’s flexible solar panels mean this cat can accommodate 2,610 square feet of solar-farm space and generate up to 46 kilowatts per hour of DC power, which should keep its high-performance lithium-ion batteries topped off. 

Hands on the Helm

While the Navier 27 will initially require human hands on its helm, down-the-road software releases are expected to enable autonomous driving.

Panel Planners

While photovoltaic panels can be fitted to any yacht, catamarans present themselves as an ideal platform, given their beam and broader coach-roof space.

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