Solar aeroplane for very high altitude flying

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Solar Stratos is a 100% electric plane which aim is to fly at 80.000 feet (24 km), powered exclusively by solar energy.

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It is in 2017, that the first prototype took wing, flown by a test pilot, for a seven-minute electric-powered flight. The proponent is the eco-explorer Raphaël Domjan who gathered together a team of international experts in 2014, with the objective of performing the first stratospheric electric flight.

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At that altitude, the temperature is minus 70 degree Celsius and the atmospheric pressure is about 5%: he seeks to observe the stars during the day and to discover the curvature of the earth, as his plane will fly at an altitude that is impossible to achieve by a classic-powered aircraft.

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He is supported by the DLR (German Space Agency) and assisted by a team of experts, pilots, astronaut, engineer, builder, meteorologist and computer specialist.

Solar Stratos >>

Friday 5 April 2019, 10:18