# SolarStratos
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{{short description|Aeronautical project}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = SolarStratos
| logo =
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| image = SolarStratos.jpg
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| caption = ''SolarStratos'' at its base in [Payerne](/source/Payerne) in 2016.
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| aircraft_type = [Experimental](/source/Experimental_aircraft) [solar-powered aircraft](/source/solar-powered_aircraft)
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| national_origin = Switzerland
| manufacturer = SolarStratos
| design_group =
| designer = Calin Gologan
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| first_flight = 5 May 2017[{{Cite news |title=First test flight of stratospheric solar plane (Update) |url=https://phys.org/news/2017-05-swiss-solar-plane-flight-aims.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240616130710/https://phys.org/news/2017-05-swiss-solar-plane-flight-aims.html |archive-date=2024-06-16 |access-date=2026-04-19 |language=en|url-status=live|website=[phys.org](/source/phys.org)}}]
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{{Infobox company
| name = SolarStratos SA
| logo =
| type =
| industry = Air transport
| founded = 2014
| founder = [Raphaël Domjan](/source/Rapha%C3%ABl_Domjan)
| hq_location_city = [Yverdon-les-Bains](/source/Yverdon-les-Bains)
| hq_location_country = Switzerland
| area_served =
| key_people = [Raphaël Domjan](/source/Rapha%C3%ABl_Domjan)
| products = [Aviation](/source/Aviation), [Renewable energy](/source/Renewable_energy)
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| website = [https://www.solarstratos.com SolarStratos]
}}
'''SolarStratos''' is an aeronautical project aimed at flying a piloted solar-powered airplane for the first time to the [stratosphere](/source/stratosphere). 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 crewed solar-equipped aircraft to enter the stratosphere.[Flieger-Revue 4/2017 Page 32 Mit Strom in die Stratosphäre][{{Cite web |date=2017-05-05 |title=SolarStratos flies at last! |url=https://www.solarstratos.com/en/2017/05/newsletter-015-en/ |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=SolarStratos |language=en-US}}]
== 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 {{convert|25,000|m}}, to altitudes hardly ever achieved with conventional propulsion aircraft.[{{cite magazine|title=To the stratosphere and beyond! SolarStratos wants to fly a plane to the edge of space|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/solar-flight-pt-ii-space|author=James Temperton|magazine=Wired|language=en|date=24 November 2016|publication-date=}}]
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.[{{cite web|title=The Guardian : Drones and the transport revolution|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/ng-interactive/2016/nov/16/drones-and-the-transport-revolution|website=theguardian.com|date=November 2016}}]
== Specifications (SolarStratos) ==
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=[{{cite web|title=L'AVION|url=https://www.solarstratos.com/en/plane/|access-date=1 November 2017}}]
|prime units?=met
|genhide=
|crew=2
|capacity=
|length m=8.5
|span m=24.8
|height m=
|height ft=
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|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=
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|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=
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|gross weight kg=450
|max takeoff weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=unspecified
|eng1 type=electric motor
|eng1 kw=32
|eng1 hp=
|eng1 shp=
|eng1 note=at 2200 rpm, with 90% efficiency
* '''Solar cells:''' {{convert|22|m2|abbr=on}}
* '''Cells efficiency:''' 22-24%
* '''Battery:''' [Lithium-ion](/source/Lithium-ion) -{{convert|20|kWh|abbr=on}}
|prop blade number=3
|prop name=variable-pitch propeller
|prop dia m=2.2
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|endurance=unreported
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}}
==Project stages==
*2012-2013: Constitution of the team and first feasibility study
*17 March 2014 : Official launch of the SolarStratos project[{{cite news|title=Le nouveau défi de Raphaël Domjan: un vol solaire dans la stratosphère|url=http://www.24heures.ch/vaud-regions/nord-vaudois-broye/nouveau-defi-raphael-domjan-vol-solaire-stratosphere/story/15953817|author=Vincent Maendly|website=[24 heures](/source/24_heures_(Switzerland))|date=18 March 2014}}]
*2014-2015: Finalization of the design and start of construction of the aircraft
*7 December 2016 : Presentation of the SolarStratos aircraft[{{cite web|title=SolarStratos, l'avion solaire qui veut nous amener dans la stratosphère|url=http://sciencepost.fr/2016/12/solarstratos-lavion-solaire-veut-amener-stratosphere/|website=SciencePost.fr|date=1 December 2016|access-date=1 December 2016}}]
*2017: First flight on 5 May 2017, at Payerne,[{{cite web|title=Baptême de l'air réussi pour l'avion solaire SolarStratos à Payerne|url=http://www.rts.ch/info/regions/vaud/8597139-bapteme-de-l-air-reussi-pour-l-avion-solaire-solarstratos-a-payerne.html|website=www.rts.ch|language=fr|date=5 May 2017|access-date=5 May 2017}}] test flights and preparation for the record flight
*From 2018: Test flights
*On 6 July 2018, the aircraft's left wing broke during a stress test carried out on ground.[{{Cite web |date=2018-07-06 |title=Technical failure of the SolarStratos aircraft |url=https://www.solarstratos.com/en/2018/07/technical-damage-to-the-solarstratos-aircraft/ |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=SolarStratos |language=en-US}}]
*From 2020: Record flight and first
==Funding==
SolarStratos budget is around 10 million Swiss francs (10 million euros).[{{Cite web |date=2016-12-10 |title=SolarStratos : un avion électrique aux frontières de l'espace |url=https://www.sciencesetavenir.fr/high-tech/transports/solarstratos-la-suisse-prepare-le-premier-vol-solaire-habite-dans-la-stratosphere_108751 |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=Sciences et Avenir |language=fr |agency=[Agence France-Presse](/source/Agence_France-Presse)}}]
==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](/source/Rapha%C3%ABl_Domjan), 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](/source/Michael_L%C3%B3pez-Alegr%C3%ADa). Gerald Ducoin takes on the role of [test pilot](/source/test_pilot) of the prototype. Alexis Domjan, brother of [Raphaël Domjan](/source/Rapha%C3%ABl_Domjan), is responsible for all telecommunication and IT aspects of the project.[{{cite web|title=SolarStratos - team|url=https://www.solarstratos.com/en/team/|website=Solarstratos.com|date=1 December 2016|access-date=1 December 2016|publication-date=}}]
===Sponsors===
Sponsors include Jean Verne, great-grandson of [Jules Verne](/source/Jules_Verne), [Edgar Mitchell](/source/Edgar_Mitchell), Moon walker who flew on [Apollo 14](/source/Apollo_14) (1930-2016), Marie-Vincente Latécoère, founding president of the PG Foundation [Latécoère](/source/Pierre-Georges_Lat%C3%A9co%C3%A8re), [Jacques Rougerie](/source/Jacques_Rougerie_(architect)), oceanographer architect, [Jean-François Clervoy](/source/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Clervoy), ESA astronaut, André Schneider, Vice-President of Resources and Infrastructures of the [EPFL](/source/Federal_Polytechnic_School_of_Lausanne), [Mirosław Hermaszewski](/source/Miros%C5%82aw_Hermaszewski), Polish astronaut, Manfred Dutch von Ehrenfried, author of ''Stratonauts: Pioneers Venturing into the Stratosphere'', and [Chuck Leavell](/source/Chuck_Leavell), keyboardist of [Rolling Stones](/source/The_Rolling_Stones) and co-founder of the Mother Nature Network.