SolarStratos
SolarStratos is an aeronautical project aimed at flying a 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 manned solar-equipped aircraft to enter the stratosphere. 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 , to altitudes hardly ever achieved with conventional propulsion aircraft. 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. After the project: Development of stratospheric solar passenger airplanes or telecommunication relay solar drones Funding. SolarStratos budget is around 10  million Swiss francs (9.25 million euros). 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. Damian Hischier takes on the role of test pilot of the prototype plane and the Swiss Thierry Plojoux is the second pilot. Alexis Domjan, brother of Raphaël Domjan, is responsible for all telecommunication and IT aspects of the project. Sponsors. Sponsors  include Jean Verne, great-grandson of Jules Verne, Edgar Mitchell, moon walker 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 even Chuck Leavell, keyboardist of Rolling Stones and co-founder of the Mother Nature Network.