SolarStratos is an aeronautical project aimed at flying a solar-powered airplane for the first time to the
stratosphere
The stratosphere () is the second layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is an atmospheric layer composed of stratified temperature layers, with the warm layers of air ...
. The SolarStratos airplane is equipped with solar cells but is not able to fly directly on solar power, thus is accurately described as a battery powered electric airplane that is equipped with solar cells; it is planned to be the first manned solar-equipped aircraft to enter the stratosphere.
Objectives
SolarStratos is a project officially initiated in March 2014 by Raphaël Domjan. It is a two-seater solar plane built by Calin Gologan with which he and his team plan to achieve an altitude record. The SolarStratos mission should allow Raphaël Domjan to reach more than , to altitudes hardly ever achieved with conventional propulsion aircraft.
This eco-exploration aims to demonstrate that renewable energies make it possible to go beyond what is possible with conventional modes of propulsion. Ultimately, and after the record flight planned for 2018, Raphaël Domjan and the SolarStratos team wish to commercialize the technologies developed during the stratospheric mission, in particular by developing stratospheric solar drones.
Specifications (SolarStratos)
Project stages
*2012-2013: Constitution of the team and first feasibility study
*March 17, 2014 : Official launch of the SolarStratos project
*2014-2015: Finalization of the design and start of construction of the aircraft
*Dec. 7, 2016 : Presentation of the SolarStratos aircraft
*2017: First flight on May 5, 2017 at Payerne, test flights and preparation for the record flight
*From 2018: Test flights
*On July 6, 2018, the aircraft's left wing broke during a stress test carried out on ground.
*From 2020: Record flight
After the project: Development of stratospheric solar passenger airplanes or telecommunication relay solar drones
Funding
SolarStratos budget is around 10 million Swiss francs (9.25 million euros).
Team
Operational team
About fifteen people work on the SolarStratos project. The CEO of SolarStratos is Swiss entrepreneur Roland Loos. Its president is the eco-explorer
Raphaël Domjan
Raphaël Domjan (born 19 January 1972) is a Swiss explorer and lecturer. He initiated and completed the first round-the-world trip using solar energy between September 2010 and May 2012 aboard the MS catamaran PlanetSolar. In 2015, he carried ...
, also the main pilot and intended to perform the record altitude flight. The mission's flight director is the Spanish American astronaut
Michael López-Alegría. Damian Hischier takes on the role of
test pilot of the prototype plane and the Swiss Thierry Plojoux is the second pilot. Alexis Domjan, brother of
Raphaël Domjan
Raphaël Domjan (born 19 January 1972) is a Swiss explorer and lecturer. He initiated and completed the first round-the-world trip using solar energy between September 2010 and May 2012 aboard the MS catamaran PlanetSolar. In 2015, he carried ...
, is responsible for all telecommunication and IT aspects of the project.
Sponsors
Sponsors include Jean Verne, great-grandson of
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
,
Edgar Mitchell
Edgar Dean Mitchell (September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14 in 1971 he spent nine hour ...
, moon walker
Apollo 14
Apollo 14 (January 31, 1971February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to land on the Moon, and the first to land in the lunar highlands. It was the last of the " H missions", landings at s ...
(1930-2016), Marie-Vincente Latécoère, founding president of the PG Foundation
Latécoère,
Jacques Rougerie, oceanographer architect,
Jean-François Clervoy, ESA astronaut, André Schneider, vice- President of Resources and Infrastructures of the
EPFL,
Mirosław Hermaszewski, Polish astronaut, Manfred Dutch von Ehrenfried, author of ''Stratonauts: Pioneers Venturing into the Stratosphere'', and even
Chuck Leavell
Charles Alfred Leavell (born April 28, 1952) is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the pri ...
, keyboardist of
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
and co-founder of the Mother Nature Network.
See also
*
Solar Impulse
*
Sunseeker Duo
The Sunseeker Duo is a twin seat all-electric solar-recharged powered aircraft. Designed by Eric Scott Raymond, the plane can take off and achieve enough height for the motor to be switched off and follow thermals like a glider (sailplane), all ...
*
Solar Challenger
*
Solair
Solair I and Solair II are two German-designed electric aircraft.
Solair 1
The human piloted Solair I was developed from 1980 by Günther Rochelt - developer of the Musculair human-powered aircraft series - based on a Hans Farner canard design. ...
*
Electric aircraft
An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity.
Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights.
Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...
References
External links
official website
{{Portal bar, Aviation, Renewable energy, Energy, Switzerland
Solar-powered aircraft
Swiss experimental aircraft
Solar power in Switzerland
Electric aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2017