In Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that “discretion is of prime importance to succeed in any venture.1” As 2015 draws to a close, I would like to pay tribute to this quotation and its author, as it very much sums up how we have gone about things this year. We have certainly been discreet, but by no means inactive. So here is a review of 2015…
The first solar flight
With the spring came the opportunity for our first solar flight! I went to see our friend and partner Calin Gologan from PC-Aero in Germany, where an Elektra One plane awaited me. Although the weather conditions were not ideal, I was able to start up the engine and gain altitude, powered only by the energy of our sun, which was there even though it could not be seen in the sky that day. To be honest, my feelings were rollercoasting from excitement to fear – and how delighted I was to land safe and sound! Let’s just say that I was nervous about the first solar flight, but I’m looking forward to my next round of “helioplaning”!
Construction of the SolarStratos HB-SXA aircraft
Now that I’ve mentioned PC-Aero, I might as well continue by telling you about the construction of the aircraft. As announced last year, the funds necessary to build the first SolarStratos solar plane prototype allowed work to be commenced at the beginning of the year. We hope to be able to present SolarStratos to you during the summer of 2016, and carry out our first flights before the autumn.
Simulator
In order to ensure optimum flight safety, we have acquired a SolarStratos simulator to train future pilots in flying the plane. This will make it possible to view the inside layout of the cockpit and test the systems. The simulator will also be an excellent communications resource for SolarStratos and its partners everywhere it is displayed and used.
The Moon Race
In collaboration with SwissApollo, the SolarStratos team supported the unique and historic encounter between two great living legends of the conquest of space during the “Moon Race” lecture show. Buzz Aldrin, pilot of the lunar module during the first moon landing by Apollo 11 in 1969, and Alexey Leonov, the first cosmonaut to do a spacewalk in 1965, appeared together on the same stage on November at the SwissTechCenter, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), before an audience of some 3,000 fans and enthusiasts. It was a great privilege to be able to shake hands with such people – and welcome partners and friends of SolarStratos!
COP 21
The United Nations Conference on climate change was held in Paris from November 30 to December 12, 2015. Our project had an excellent spot in the Switzerland and Monaco pavilion in the Grand Palais, and was a great opportunity to show visitors that change is possible.
1000 likes
On September 27, we reached our first 1000 fans on Facebook. Are you among them? Have you liked our page yet? Don’t delay – click here! Next year’s target is to reach 5000 likes! Thank you in advance for helping us to grow our community!
New logo and visual identity
With the help of our new partner Vert-pomme communication, we’ve put together a new visual identity. This will be gradually implemented during the course of 2016. Stay tuned…
New partners
This newsletter would not be complete without mentioning the partners who have joined us this year. Thanks to them, we’re getting closer to achieving our goals.
A huge thank you to our first Official Partner, C.I.E.L. Société coopérative, for its unwavering support over the years; to Kindercity, for their support during COP21; to Wavestudios with their magical sounds; to Swiss Strato, and lastly to the COGENER fund, for their help in seeking to optimise the performance of our solar modules.
First employees
2015 also saw the arrival of SolarStratos’ first official employees. Jean-Marc Badan took up the position of CEO on January, followed closely by Alexis Domjan, heading up Webmastering and telemetry, on March 1. Then Victor Korewa joined the team on October 1 as communications and partner manager. And of course there’s Thierry Plojoux, our second pilot and marketing development manager for the Middle East. Welcome to them and a big thank you to everyone who’s helping us in this adventure!
StratosTime
In the December 2015 number of StratosTime, you’ll find a short video report.
2015, a year of discretion, is drawing to a close. And on the back of all these discreet developments, I and my team will be thrilled to see you again in 2016 as we continue our adventures together!
All of us here at SolarStratos wish you a happy festive season and all the best for 2016.
Thank you so much for your support; please continue to keep up with our news!
Raphaël Domjan, initiator and pilot
Dear friends,
It’s great to be in touch with our very first SolarStratos newsletter! We’re delighted to be able to tell you all about what’s been happening during the launch year for our new solar adventure – very soon now, it will be taking us right to the edge of space.
First off, we’ve welcomed some new partners. Heli-Lausanne will be working with us to provide aerial photography, while the free-fall flight simulator RealFly in Sion will enable us to train and test our survival equipment, as well as our biomedical telemetry devices.
Thanks to the confidence and support of our partners – and the hard work by all the team – we now have the financial and technical resources available to build our solar-powered plane. Calin Cologan, his company PC-Aero and the SolarStratos team are working with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (Centre suisse d’électronique et de microtechnique, CSEM) on the final design of our magnificent solar flying machine! In the coming weeks, we’ll be carrying out the first tests on our solar wing in a climate chamber at temperatures of -70° C. The construction of SolarStratos itself can begin in January 2015, marking a major milestone in our eco-adventure.
Meanwhile another milestone has been passed in the preparations for stratospheric flight: after one hundred or so jumps from planes, I’ve now got my skydiving licence thanks to the folks at Flying Devil in Bex and Géraldine Fasnacht, our head of in-flight safety.
We’ve also been able to test our biomedical telemetry system. Our scientific partner CSEM has developed a new technology in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), and it works perfectly. Under the supervision of our doctor, Patrick Schoettker, I’ve completed a simulated flight at 6,000 m altitude in perfect safety thanks to this system – the only one of its kind in the world.
2015 will be an important year for all of us on the SolarStratos team and for our partners. Together with them and the SolarPlanet foundation, we’ve got lots of surprises in store for you! Our goal is still to complete our first solar-powered flights in 2016. You can keep up with our eco-adventure on our website and via our social media feeds.
And to send you the Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year 2015, we couldn’t resist putting together a little film for you! So here, just for you, is this exclusive video: The StratosTime.
Looking forward to being in touch with you in the New Year with more news of solar adventures!
Raphaël and all the team at SolarStratos and SolarPlanet.
