On a mission to Moscow
At the time of writing, Raphael Domjan and a few other members of the team are in Russia, at the offices of their partner, Zvezda, where they are testing the solar space suit that Raphael plans to wear for his voyage into the stratosphere. The tests, that simulate a 25,000-metre flight at a temperature of -75 degrees Celsius, are being conducted in an altitude chamber with full medical monitoring by the SolarStratos doctor and Zvezda teams.
During their trip, the team will take the opportunity to present SolarStratos, the Mission’s ambitious goal and the know-how surrounding the eco-exploration, at the Swiss Embassy in Moscow, the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and to Russian cosmonauts.
A revolutionary spacesuit
The solar space suit is central to a successful SolarStratos Mission, not only must it protect Raphael by regulating the temperature and pressure, but it also needs to shield him from solar radiation and provide him with Oxygen. Not forgetting the fact that he also requires a maximum of mobility to steer the aircraft.
The space suit, Sokol-KV2, developed by our partner Zvezda, is currently used by cosmonauts and astronauts as a survival suit in the event of depressurisation onboard Soyuz. Sokol means « launch – and reentry suit ». It is being customised for SolarStratos’ unique set of requirements. With limited energy onboard, the SolarStratos suit will be powered by the solar energy harvested by the aircraft during its climb into the stratosphere and will have two major advantages: a very low energy consumption and – at 30kgs – it is very light weight.
Constantly evolving
Our solar aircraft spent the winter in Berlin, Germany, undergoing some improvements and adjustments, including a new horizontal stabiliser that has reduced the overall weight by 1kg, larger landing gear that will give better stability and allow for a larger propeller, and airbrakes. Structural elements of the wings have also been strengthened and rigidity testing is currently underway.
First tandem flight
Our solar plane will be back in Payerne, Switzerland, in May and ready for action! The plan is to resume flying with medium-term goals of achieving our first tandem flight, reaching 3,000 metres, and putting Raphael on the controls. By the end of the year, we aim to be flying at 10,000 metres above sea level. This will make us the highest manned solar and electric aircraft in history.
Stratospheric greetings to you!
The SolarStratos team
Raphaël Domjan and Bertrand Piccard jump for the environment!
During the recent International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Chateaux-d’Oex, Raphael Domjan invited Bertrand Piccard to skydive from Pierrick Duvoisin’s eco-hot air balloon. Conditions were ideal with bright sunshine and very little wind for their ascent to 2,000 metres which was over in a matter of minutes. Bertrand jumped first, followed by Raphael. What goes up, must come down, and their 15 to 20 second freefall against the stunning backdrop had onlookers holding their breath. They deployed their parachutes and floated back down to land in the snow, completely unruffled. A spectacular way to celebrate a friendship between two eco-explorers!
http://www.illustre.ch/news/piccard-et-domjan-sautent-dune-montgolfiere
SolarStratos announces partnership with Kindercity
It’s official, SolarStratos is to partner Kindercity, the future educational centre for children that will be built at the heart of the Y-Parc Science and Technology Park in Yverdon-les-bains, just a few minutes from the SolarStratos headquarters. With over 100,000 visitors per year, the new City of Science will be the most visited site in the northern Vaud area, providing excellent visibility for the SolarStratos eco-adventure. The flight simulator in which Raphaël tests the airplane and simulates solar flights, will be at the heart of the exhibition, giving visitors the opportunity to experience the journey.
Raphaël Domjan named godfather of the 2018 edition of the Larécoère Raid
What an honour for Raphael and the SolarStratos team! To be named godfather of the 100th edition of the “Latécoère and Airmail lines”, started by Pierre-Georges Latécoère, is quite an accolade. Particularly for someone whose own ambition to reach for the stars is inspired by the legend himself. This annual rendezvous to celebrate a small group of pioneers will take legendary pilots on a 5,000km flight from Toulouse to Dakar in September.
http://www.raid-latecoere.org/centenaire-du-raid/
Stratospheric greetings to you!
The SolarStratos team
Destination stratosphere
“Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow.” One of the many sayings by Albert Einstein that Raphael Domjan lives by, and which perfectly illustrates the state of mind of the SolarStratos eco-adventure.
It is with this famous quote that we kick off our new year and our first newsletter, in which we present new partners, the SolarStratos Club, update you on Switzerland’s contribution to the world of solar energy and review some of our achievements from 2017 through a press review which is like flipping through a photo album!
Read on to find out more…
Essential support
At the start of the year and before we say a word about our achievements, we would like to give heartfelt thanks to our partners for their trust and loyalty. Without them, our eco-adventure would be impossible.
Various companies have recently joined our project and we welcome them onboard:
Official suppliers: MPS Micro Precisions Systems, Geneva Airport, Importexa
Official supporter: Aero-Design
Media Partner: Big Effects
Switzerland, a pioneer in renewable energy
The SolarStratos project is faithful to Switzerland’s pioneering past in the field of renewable energies. For instance, the first solar car race (the Tour de Sol), the first solar boat race (the Course des Trois Lacs, 1988), the first Atlantic crossing (Sun21, 2006-2007), the first solar-powered circumnavigation (PlanetSolar, 2010-2012) and the first solar-powered flight (Solar Impulse 2015-2016) all represented Switzerland.
SolarStratos is fully aligned with this heritage and enjoys strong support from the Confederation, in particular through the newly created ‘Swiss Solar Explorer’ label.
Welcome to the SolarStratos lub
Many of you support us on our pathway to the stratosphere, in fact over 900 of you are ‘SolarFriends’ and receive exclusive access to our newsletter to follow every step of our adventure.
Other more exclusive categories exist, including: SolarSupporter, SolarMember, Pilot, Navigator and even Voyager for the most ambitious. Over 100 people have joined the paid categories that provide concrete support to the programme and for which, they receive different levels of rewards or benefits, such as a ‘Mission’ badge, a certificate, a hangar visit, a simulator flight, a SolarStratos jacket and for the most committed of our supporters, a flight aboard SolarStratos!
We are delighted to share this wonderful and unique project with our SolarStratos Club members. If you would like to sign up, please go to: https://www.solarstratos.com/en/bepartofit/
Press review 2017
Last year was very exciting for the SolarStratos team, among other extraordinary achievements, we conducted the maiden flight of our stratospheric solar-powered aircraft! An unforgettable moment.
You can relive the highlights of 2017, and learn more about the interest around the world in the SolarStratos project by flicking through our press review, please click here:
Stratospheric greetings to you!
The SolarStratos team
Dear partners, supporters and friends,
2017 has been a rich, fabulous and moving year! We celebrated the maiden flight of our aircraft SolarStratos, developed our solar space suit, travelled to Montreal for the Quebec Northern Solar Festival in Canada and last but not least, finalised our superb base in Payerne, Switzerland.
Thanks to you, the SolarStratos eco-adventure continues apace. It is with great pleasure that the whole team joins me in thanking you for your unconditional support throughout the year. We are honoured to be able to count on you and to share the SolarStratos mission with you.
Below, you will find a video created by our director, Stephane Chopard, through which you can relive some of the highlights of the past year. We hope that you will enjoy it as much as we did.
Christmas Eve is fast approaching, so it just remains for me to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year.
There is much in store for SolarStratos in 2018 and I look forward to continuing to share this extraordinary eco-adventure with you.
Merry Christmas and an excellent New Year 2018.
Best wishes
Raphael
L’avion SolarStratos, un modèle expérimental
Après avoir effectué ses premiers vols d’essai, voici l’avion SolarStratos entré, pour la période hivernale, dans une phase de modélisation de informatique. Améliorations technologiques et transformations sont prévues par les ingénieurs. Elles concernent principalement la direction et la profondeur. Pour ce faire, SolarStratos passera quelques semaines du côté de Berlin, avant de revenir, d’ici à fin février 2018, à sa base de Payerne pour y poursuivre ses vols d’essai.
Jean-François Clervoy, en visite au siège de SolarStratos
« Si tu veux construire un avion, fais naître dans le cœur de tes hommes et femmes le désir du ciel ». Ce sont les premiers mots que Jean-François Clervoy, astronaute de l’Agence spatiale Européenne (ASE) et parrain de l’éco-aventure, a adressé à l’équipe lors de sa venue au siège de SolarStratos, à Yverdon. Ces paroles, tirées et adaptées d’une citation d’Antoine St-Exupéry, reflètent parfaitement l’état d’esprit de toute notre équipe, tant pas le désir que par l’enthousiasme de chacune et chacun. Jean-François Clervoy a également profité d’apporter son soutien et son admiration pour ce qu’il appelle « une aventure à la fois humaine et technologique ». Il rappelle aussi que le défi est de taille, pour Raphaël, futur et premier « stratonaute » solaire de l’histoire !
Un hangar, une équipe, une raclette
La Mission SolarStratos n’est pas uniquement un défi technologique. Si l’on en croit les propos de Raphaël, le projet n’aurait pas lieu sans une équipe pluridisciplinaire, motivée et enthousiaste. Afin de remercier tous les membres du team SolarStratos, l’éco-explorateur a concocté une soirée « raclette » au hangar de Payerne. L’occasion pour toute l’équipe de passer une soirée conviviale et de passer en revue tout ce qui a été fait durant l’année. Un beau moment de partage.
Nous y étions !
Si l’on vous dit que SolarStratos est présent à Payerne, vous nous direz qu’il n’y a rien de nouveau. En revanche, si nous vous annonçons que nous étions présents au Comptoir broyard, du 17 au 26 novembre, là c’est une nouveauté !
Cela a été l’occasion pour Roland Loos, notre CEO, de couper le traditionnel ruban, lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture du Comptoir.
Autres moments forts, la présence à plusieurs reprises de Raphaël, sur le stand de notre partenaire Soleol. Notre éco-explorateur a effectué plusieurs démonstrations de vol aux commandes du simulateur de SolarStratos, accompagné de chanceux visiteurs. De belles rencontres et un public conquis !
A bientôt.
Le Team SolarStratos
R&D inMoscou
At the end of September, we spoke of the tests carried out on Raphaël with the space suit made by our partners Zvezda in Moscow. Testing a space suit isn’t an easy job and it taught us plenty. First, temperature: Raphaël experienced a simulated flight to 13,000 metres at a temperature of -55° Celsius. Even with a heating system, extremities, including the hands, suffer from the cold. Consequently, we are going to have to improve the heating system so that Raphaël’s extremities do not freeze. The second lesson we learned: it isn’t easy to move in a space suit when it is pressurised. In fact, it is even difficult to bend legs and move feet. This is a problem for a pilot who needs to be precise on the rudder bar. Fortunately, the arms have more range. Consequently, we are going to have to adapt the controls so that plane is piloted with the hands only. With SolarStratos, the true meaning of research and development emerges! Find out more in our latest StratosTime!
A new partner
We are pleased to welcome Gaznat SA as a new partner! The Vevey-based company will supply our Mercedes-Benz B 250 E gaz (loaned by our partner Group Leuba) with natural biogaz. We use this car amongst others to pull the airplane, and thanks to this partnership, Raphaël has become a 100% biogaz driver. SolarStratos’ mobility is CO2 neutral but on top of this, Gaznat tops Raphaël’s consumption in Biogaz and reinjects it into the network. We wish to thank Gaznat and all our partners for their trust and support.
An operational and welcoming base
Raphaël and his team have used the last weeks of summer to improve the welcome area for VIPs, partners and journalists at the SolarStratos operational base. The South-East corner of the hangar is fully dedicated to the well-being of our guests: a “home-made” bar and a lounge, under a beautiful aluminium panel with the logos of all the partners that enable SolarStratos to exist!
Trade Fair
This autumn, the Romandy Trade Fairs will publicise our eco-adventure. For example, we are preparing our exhibit at the Broyard Fair with our partner Soleol, from 17 to 26 November. Come to see for yourself!
A bientôt !
Le team SolarStratos
The hot temperatures of the summer months might be moving south, but the mercury continues to soar at the SolarStratos base, particularly for Raphael trussed up in his space suit. We paid Zvezda, our Russian partners in Moscow, a visit this month to test our space suit in a depressurised chamber. Fortunately, Raphael was luckier than poor Captain Haddock who found a mouse at the bottom of his suit (for those who remember the famous Tintin story ‘Destination Moon’)! Other than a few drops of perspiration, Raphael was able to experience the effects that he will feel in the cockpit during his record breaking flight.
SolarStratos welcomes a key team member to the design group this month: Thomas Sandmann is an aeronautical engineer and becomes SolarStratos’ chief engineer for airworthiness and the reference person for the Federal Office of Civil Aviation. His contribution will allow us to reach the stratosphere with maximum security!
In parallel to Thomas’ studies, the technical team initiated its optimisation work on the aircraft this month, including on the tail and the rudders. The aim is to stabilise the aircraft and lighten the carbon structure to be able to fly two up. It is not an easy matter, but it will take a lot to discourage our technicians and engineers!
Beyond its technical aspects, SolarStratos is also an important communication tool for the promotion of renewable energies. To this end, Raphael and the team host events at the Payerne base and participate in others. This month saw the Leuba Group test hybrid cars on the runway in front of the SolarStratos hangar. Sixty people, including Raphael, put the hybrid and electric vehicles through their paces, overlooked by the solar plane. In mid-September, Raphael shared his passion for aviation by jumping from a helicopter with Geraldine Fasnacht during the 61st edition of the Gordon Bennett, the oldest aeronautical competition in the world. What a sight to see the SolarStratos logo emblazoned across his parachute amid the giant gas-powered balloons.
We also had the opportunity to exhibit a model of the solar aircraft at Geneva Airport. From 11-14 September, thousands of passengers saw the mini-SolarStratos, giving awareness of our eco-adventure a huge boost.
A busy month as you can see!
Thank you all for your loyalty. Until next month and our next newsletter!
The SolarStratos team.
Copyright images Gordon Bennett 2017 © Yves Erismann
The summer holidays are over and the entire team at SolarStratos is back at work. We hope that you enjoyed the warm months and that your batteries are recharged. Ours are! A good thing given how busy our next chapter promises to be! However, before we tell you all about this, let’s recap what happened over the past few months…
After crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards and then back from Canada, our solar bird is now back to its roots in Payerne; needless to say that we celebrated its homecoming with our friends and partners in due style!
Further afield, Raphael and Roland’s visit to the Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, provided an exciting highlight. SolarStratos played a key role in the Swiss House, and was presented to the public through a movie. We also had the great opportunity to introduce our mission To the Edge of Space directly to the president of the Confederation, Doris Leuthard, who engaged with the eco-explorers during her visit to the Pavilion.
Now that we have achieved our summer objectives, it is time for our team to move on to the next phase of optimisation of the aircraft. Indeed, our first test flights highlighted a few updates that need to be completed. Our technical team will definitely be busy over the next few weeks.
In parallel Raphaël will focus on training in the simulator ahead of the altitude record we hope to achieve over the winter. Will we succeed in beating Bertrand Piccard and SolarImpulse’ altitude record and fly above 10,000 meters ?
Stay tuned to find it out; follow us on the social networks and on our website.
A bientôt from the SolarStratos team!
SolarStratos’ first foreign trip to Quebec in Canada in June was declared a huge success!
During the first half of the trip, the aircraft was at the heart of the Northern Solar Festival in Montreal and the star attraction for thousands of visitors! To celebrate the closing of this event, the Swiss Consulate organised a Swiss evening with röstis, raclette and fondue in the land of reindeer. Ah, Switzerland! We love it and we love its flavours!
During the second half of the trip, between the 19 and 22 June, the Metropolis World Congress gathered 150 mayors from the world’s largest cities at a conference. SolarStratos was due to conduct a first historic flight at this event, but was grounded due to bad weather. Instead Raphael took the opportunity to deliver an impressive and engaging lecture to close the event.
As the month of June comes to a close, the aircraft is somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean tucked away in its container. When it arrives in Europe in mid-July, it will be returned to its cradle in Hurlach, Germany, for some work. As for the SolarStratos team, they are concentrating on the next step which will be to reach 10,000 metres of altitude by the end of 2017.
SolarStratos may be back in Europe, but the team still has a presence in Central Asia, at the International Expo’s Swiss pavilion in Astana, Kazakhstan, where visitors can learn about our mission at the edge of space until the 10 September.
Finally, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our new partners Fischer Connectors and Presence Switzerland!
Headquartered in St-Prex, Fischer Connectors, a Swiss multinational specializing in high-reliability and high-quality connectivity, becomes our Official Partner! Fischer Connectors will be in charge of developing specific lightweight and resistant solutions to extreme conditions for our solar airplane, allowing us to connect our various onboard cameras!
Presence Switzerland, the branch of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs tasked with promoting Switzerland globally, comes onboard as our new institutional partner.
Thank you very much to both partners for your trust and support!
More good news, particularly on the topic of partnerships, will be announced in August, but first it is holiday time. If you are planning a break, enjoy it! And don’t forget to stay posted on our news through our social networks.
With solar best wishes,
Raphael and the SolarStratos team
Last Saturday, June 10, the 2017 Expo opened in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. Visitors of the Swiss Pavilion will be able to discover SolarStratos, which will hold an information stand until September 10. The theme of this first international exhibition in Central Asia is “the energy of the future”. Designed by our new partner Présence Suisse, the Swiss Pavilion aims to make visitors aware of the sustainable management of natural resources, thanks to an original exhibition presenting its capacity for innovation in the field of energy.
From Central Asia, SolarStratos “flies” to the antipodes to get to Canada. The aircraft arrived at the beginning of June in its container by sea. The SolarStratos team is ready to join and prepare for the few days of celebration at the Nordic Solar Festival (June 15-22) and Metropolis (June 19-22). Continue to follow us to find out how “Mission Montreal” took place and what awaits SolarStratos in the coming months!
© Présence Suisse
