SolarStratos

SolarStratos
SolarStratos at its base in Payerne in 2016.
Role Experimental solar-powered aircraft
National origin Switzerland
Manufacturer SolarStratos
Designer Calin Gologan
First flight 5 May 2017[1]
SolarStratos SA
IndustryAir transport
Founded2014
FounderRaphaël Domjan
Headquarters
Yverdon-les-Bains
,
Switzerland
Key people
Raphaël Domjan
ProductsAviation, Renewable energy
WebsiteSolarStratos

SolarStratos is an aeronautical project aimed at flying a piloted solar-powered airplane for the first time to the 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.[2][3]

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 25,000 metres (82,000 ft), to altitudes hardly ever achieved with conventional propulsion aircraft.[4]

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.[5]

Specifications (SolarStratos)

Data from [6]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 2
  • Length: 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
  • Wingspan: 24.8 m (81 ft 4 in)
  • Gross weight: 450 kg (992 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × unspecified electric motor, 32 kW (43 hp) at 2200 rpm, with 90% efficiency
  • Solar cells: 22 m2 (240 sq ft)
  • Cells efficiency: 22-24%
  • Battery: Lithium-ion -20 kWh (72 MJ)
  • Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller, 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) diameter

Performance

  • Endurance: unreported

Project stages

  • 2012-2013: Constitution of the team and first feasibility study
  • March 17, 2014 : Official launch of the SolarStratos project[7]
  • 2014-2015: Finalization of the design and start of construction of the aircraft
  • Dec. 7, 2016 : Presentation of the SolarStratos aircraft[8]
  • 2017: First flight on May 5, 2017, at Payerne,[9] 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.[10]
  • From 2020: Record flight and first


Funding

SolarStratos budget is around 10 million Swiss francs (10 million euros).[11]

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, 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. Gerald Ducoin takes on the role of test pilot of the prototype. Alexis Domjan, brother of Raphaël Domjan, is responsible for all telecommunication and IT aspects of the project.[12]

Sponsors

Sponsors include Jean Verne, great-grandson of Jules Verne, Edgar Mitchell, Moon walker who flew on Apollo 14 (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 Chuck Leavell, keyboardist of Rolling Stones and co-founder of the Mother Nature Network.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "First test flight of stratospheric solar plane (Update)".
  2. ^ Flieger-Revue 4/2017 Page 32 Mit Strom in die Stratosphäre
  3. ^ SolarStratos flies at Last!
  4. ^ James Temperton (24 November 2016). "To the stratosphere and beyond! SolarStratos wants to fly a plane to the edge of space". Wired.
  5. ^ "The Guardian : Drones and the transport revolution". theguardian.com. November 2016.
  6. ^ "L'AVION". Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  7. ^ Vincent Maendly (18 March 2014). "Le nouveau défi de Raphaël Domjan: un vol solaire dans la stratosphère". 24 heures.
  8. ^ "SolarStratos, l'avion solaire qui veut nous amener dans la stratosphère". SciencePost.fr. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Baptême de l'air réussi pour l'avion solaire SolarStratos à Payerne". www.rts.ch (in French). 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Technical failure of the SolarStratos aircraft". 6 July 2018.
  11. ^ "SolarStratos : Un avion électrique aux frontières de l'espace".
  12. ^ a b "SolarStratos - team". Solarstratos.com. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.