Solar aeroplane for very high altitude flying
Solar Stratos is a 100% electric plane which aim is to fly at 80.000 feet (24 km), powered exclusively by solar energy.
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.
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.
He is supported by the DLR (German Space Agency) and assisted by a team of experts, pilots, astronaut, engineer, builder, meteorologist and computer specialist.
Friday 5 April 2019, 10:18
