On the eve of August 1st, the SolarStratos mission achieved a highly successful preparatory flight. Despite less-than-ideal conditions on Thursday, July 31, 2025—particularly in terms of thermal updrafts—Raphaël Domjan completed a 2-hour and 31-minute flight from Sion over the Alps, reaching an altitude of 6,589 meters, the highest ever attained by HB-SXA. This performance surpasses that of Klaus Ohlmann (6,376 m), making SolarStratos now the second-highest manned solar-powered aircraft in history. The entire team, with the necessary authorization in hand, is now ready and waiting for a favorable weather window to attempt the 10,000-meter altitude record over the Swiss Alps, which would surpass SolarImpulse (9,235 m). It’s also worth noting that HB-SXA crossed the 100-flight-hour mark on July 31.
