Testing our oxygen system
For the medium and high-altitude flights from 6,700 m (22,000 ft), Raphaël Domjan will use a helmet equipped with a fighter pilot mask oxygen supply, developed by test pilot Miguel Iturmendi based on his experience with the Perlan II project. Initial tests will be done out of Colombier airport using a high-end ULM aircraft. The system of oxygen supply is simple and effective, with two 2 l bottles of oxygen connected one after the other to the mask. The flow of oxygen will adjust according to the needs of the pilot.
Space suit tests in Payerne
At the beginning of the year, as you know, we visited our partner Zvezda in Moscow. The purpose of the trip was to check on modifications to the space suit that Raphaël will wear during his high-altitude flights.
Following our stay, the Zvezda team made some additional adjustments and now, the space suit has been delivered to Payerne where Raphaël will get used to wearing it in the simulator and during the test flights.
Zero Gravity flight with Charlie Duke
Raphaël Domjan recently had the privilege of experiencing weightlessness alongside Charlie Duke, the 10th man to walk on the moon (Apollo 16 mission), during a Zero Gravity flight above Toulouse in France.
Co-organised by SolarStratos and Lukas Viglietti, founder and president of SwissApollo, the parabolic flight on an Airbus from Novespace, was historic with three generations of astronaut onboard.
In addition to Charlie Duke, the illustrious group included Jean-Francois Clervoy, a senior ESA astronaut who has completed three space missions with NASA and is president of Novespace and Thomas Pesquet, a French astronaut with two six-hour extravehicular sorties to his name.
Two transport trucks branded SolarStratos
Two trucks owned by our official partner, Planzer, will soon be travelling the roads of Switzerland emblazoned with the colours of SolarStratos and showcasing our eco adventure. A huge thank you to Planzer management! We are looking forward to seeing the trucks on the open road!
Raphaël inaugurates the ‘Flying Rivers’ exhibition
Raphaël recently took part in the inauguration of a spectacular temporary exhibition at AQUATIS, the largest freshwater aquarium-vivarium in Europe, located in Lausanne, Switzerland. The exhibition, called ‘Flying Rivers’ focuses on understanding the importance of natural and tropical forests and their essential role in the stability of the geo-climatic system. The inauguration was attended by a number of personalities, including Bertrand Piccard.
Round Table discussion on Engineering and Sustainable Development
Raphaël Domjan, Christophe Frei, secretary general of the World Energy Council, Yvan Borgnon, the man behind the Manta-The SeaCleaners project and Davor Kosanic, project partner at Tech4Impact EPFL, all got together for a debate at the 2019 Conference d’honneur organised by the EPFL Forum. The topic was ‘engineering and sustainable development, which project for which future?’
This was a fantastic opportunity for our eco-explorer to present the SolarStratos mission and to illustrate, through his experience, the capacity of renewable energies and future possibilities.
