Experience The Solarstratos Aircraft Through The Eyes Of Our Test Pilot
The solar aircraft is progressing wellThe solar aircraft is progressing well
The SolarStratos project has been developing positively since June with regular test flights over La Broye giving the test pilot ample opportunity to get a sense of the behaviour of the solar airplane. The flights also allow for the changes that were made over the winter to be checked and tested. So far, the adjustments that were made have been convincing and offer solid prospects in terms of flight duration and altitude.
Test piloting a solar aircraft is a job like no other
Damien Hischier, test pilot for SolarStratos, has a very unusual job. It is exciting, risky and challenging on a daily basis. In the following interview, we meet a man who is out of the ordinary…
Damian – what is you background and how did you become a test pilot?
Originally, I was an airline pilot, then I transitioned to a business jet pilot. After that I went to Africa to be a ‘bush pilot’. And now I’m a test pilot. I’ve tested around 140 different aircraft, including a number of prototypes. Piloting a new plane is always a significant challenge, but that is what I enjoy.
What do you think of the SolarStratos aircraft?
The project really fascinates me from an aeronautical point of view, but also because of the values that the project conveys. I am a supporter of sustainable development and new technologies and this project combines these two principals.
What are the particularities of this project from a pilot’s point of view?
Well it is really experimental. It flies very slowly and has a large wingspan, so high inertia. It is also an excellent glider. At the start of the project we had a descent rate of one metre per 38 metres travelled, which was clearly insufficient. Imagine a descent from the stratosphere at that rate! We installed an airbrake that works very well, so now we can descend much faster. Dozens of other details have been modified and tested successfully.
What are the objectives of these test flights?
Every time we fly, we change the ’flight envelope’. That means we push the boundaries each time, that could include more complex manoeuvres, longer flight time or higher altitude. The ultimate goal is to evolve the plane and make it safe so that Raphael can take over the controls
And what are the next steps?
We must now define the minimum flight speed, determine the ideal climb angle and calculate the energy needed to climb. We know all the theoretical data, but it is crucial to validate the engineering calculations against practical tests.
How do you analyse the evolution of the project?
Last year, we flew three flights before the plane went into the yard for major modifications during the winter. Since the spring, the handling of the plane is much better and I’m very happy with the way the project is evolving. The SolarStratos team is very competent and we are moving in the right direction. My confidence increases after every flight and soon I will be in a position to train Raphael and hand over the controls.
The Explorers Club visits à Payerne
The Swiss Chapter of the famous Explorers Club, created in March 2018, met for the first time in Switzerland on Thursday 14 June. The Explorers Club is an historical institution, founded in New York in 1905. It boasts many great explorers amongst its members. Raphael Domjan and his team welcomed the Swiss Chapter at the SolarStratos base for their inaugural meeting, attended by a delegation from the USA, that included Explorers Club president, Richard Wiese, former president Lorie Karnath and board director Damien Leloup.
1’000’000 views !
If you are reading this newsletter, then it is safe to assume that you are one of the one million people who watched the PlanetSolar Foundation video, dedicated to the first solar-powered boat to circumnavigate the globe and including some insight on the eco-explorations of the SolarStratos mission. Thanks to you, we have reached one million views! https://www.facebook.com/PlanetSolar/videos/1898813013502978/
Summer is here !
The temperature is rising in Switzerland and summer is here. We will be making the most of the warmer weather to continue with the test flights until the end of June and after that we’ll all be going on holiday for a month!
Raphael Domjan and the SolarStratos team wish you a pleasant summer and look forward to seeing you again in the autumn.
Happy holidays to you all!
A New Round Of Test Flights Are Underway In Payerne
Test flights have resumed at the Payerne base with test pilot, Damian Hischier, at the controls of the solar aircraft. He will hand over to Raphaël Domjan this summer for a first round of take-offs and solo flights at low altitude. During these trials, the team will test the modifications made over the winter and Raphaël will get a chance to transition from simulator to flying SolarStratos in real conditions. Getting back in the air is a crucial step for the team in the evolution of the project and its future records.
New partners have joined SolarStratos
SolarStratos is delighted to announce two new partners and welcomes them to their ground-breaking adventure:
SUNPOWER, energy partner to the project, is a company focussed on innovative solar solutions, including photovoltaic cells
SWISS, the national airline serving more than 100 destinations and part of the Lufthansa Group, a member of the Star Alliance
PEMSA is an employment agency in construction
The SolarStratos team welcomes them and thanks them for their trust, the team would also like to thank all existing partners and Club members for their continued unconditional support.
A distinguished guest at our base in Payerne
French astronaut, Thomas Pesquet, paid a visit to the SolarStratos team in Payerne recently: “I met him at the Espace Gruyere 20th anniversary,” said Raphaël. “He was giving a lecture in front of 2,300 people. We did a round table together which was very nice, and I invited him to visit us in Payerne. He came the next day!”
The European Space Agency astronaut was intrigued by the solar aircraft and spoke about the project with Raphaël in great detail: “He was passionate about our project, he wanted to see everything, including the space suit, the smell of which reminded him of his most recent trip into space!”
Forum des 100 – Beautiful presentation in the presence of a panel of prestigious guests
Raphaël was recently invited to speak at the Forum of the 100, the theme of which was ‘reinventing mobility’. He presented the SolarStratos Mission to the 800 personalities present, including Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, Vaud State Councillors Nuria Gorité and Pascal Broulis, and Nobel Prize winner Jacques Dubochet. A magnificent opportunity for our eco-explorer to demonstrate the potential of renewable energies in tomorrow’s mobility.
The Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) stressed the importance of Swiss environmental projects in relation to future mobility and sustainable development. She also recalled the Confederation’s support for ambitious projects, such as the SolarStratos Mission, and said that she was looking forward to seeing the solar plane for real, on its base in Payerne.
Partner reception in Payerne
SolarStratos hosted a celebration at the base in Payerne on the 25 May for the team’s partners. The friendly gathering was an opportunity to celebrate the relaunch of the test flights and for Raphaël to thank the partners for their support face to face. Without them, the SolarStratos project would never have seen the light of day.
The evening also gave Raphaelle Javet, director of the PlanetSolar Foundation, a chance to present the Solar Vehicles Exhibition at the heart of the SolarStratos base.
Stratospheric greetings to you!
The SolarStratos team
Sub 53 degrees
Raphaël Domjan recently underwent a fresh round of decompression tests in an altitude chamber with mixed results. Dressed in his Sokol-KV2 solar space suit and approaching 15,000 metres and minus 53 degrees, the stratonaut started to feel the sub freezing temperatures on his right foot. The technical and the medical team, in agreement with Raphaël, decided to abort the mission for security reasons. Raphaël and the team were disappointed not to have reached the target altitude for the record flight, but on the other hand, identifying this technical issue now means that Zvezda can action the necessary improvements ahead of new tests in Moscow later this year.
The SolarPlanet Foundation becomes the PlanetSolar Foundation
Created in 2007 by the masterminds of the PlanetSolar project, the foundation, formely known as the SolarPlanet Foundation, is changing its name to that of the first solar energy world tour, PlanetSolar Foundation. Based in Yverdon-les-Bains, the Foundation supports projects focussed on sustainable development.
A team, supported by Raphaël Domjan, works to promote sustainable development and the use of renewable energies in Switzerland and around the world.
A model of Solar One in Yverdon-les-bains
Mr Fred To has donated the original model and plans of Solar One, the first solar plane to fly, to Raphaël Domjan and the PlanetSolar Foundation.
The solar plane was built by Mr To, David Williams and their small team in the seventies in what became a race between American teams for the first solar flight. They won the bet by being the first to fly on 19 December 1978, taking off from the English airfield, Lasham. Other exhibition flights took place in 1979 in front of the world’s press.
For the record, the model plane was designed before the completion of the aircraft and the wings are painted black to simulate solar cells, while on Solar One, the cells did not cover the entire wing. Due to the cost, only part of the wing close to the fuselage was lined with solar panels.
TEst flights resume
With the latest developments completed, the first test flights of the year will begin in Berlin and in mid-May, once SolarStratos is back in Payerne, these will increase in intensity.
SolarStratos and risk management
Through experimentation and concrete actions eco-exploration such as the SolarStratos mission serves to develop the potential for positive change in favour of the environment. Through SolarStratos, Raphaël Domjan and his team want to prove that the use of solar energy is possible in extreme conditions. Extreme conditions come with risk and inevitably, risk management. For Raphaël Domjan, the SolarStratos pilot, the primary risk is flying at an altitude of 25,000 metres in temperatures of around minus 70 degrees centigrade in a non-pressurised solar plane with no extraction option and dressed in a solar space suit.
The main risks are well known and management of these has been taken into account by the SolarStratos team and its scientific and technical partners from the outset. Probability, severity and consequences are integral to the development of the project and many tests have been done, are being done and will be done to minimise these risks. Whether it is the design of the solar plane, the space suit or medically, everything is set up to tend towards zero risk, even though that does not exist in eco-exploration or a project as innovative as SolarStratos.
Stratospheric greetings to you!
The SolarStratos team
On a mission to Moscow
At the time of writing, Raphael Domjan and a few other members of the team are in Russia, at the offices of their partner, Zvezda, where they are testing the solar space suit that Raphael plans to wear for his voyage into the stratosphere. The tests, that simulate a 25,000-metre flight at a temperature of -75 degrees Celsius, are being conducted in an altitude chamber with full medical monitoring by the SolarStratos doctor and Zvezda teams.
During their trip, the team will take the opportunity to present SolarStratos, the Mission’s ambitious goal and the know-how surrounding the eco-exploration, at the Swiss Embassy in Moscow, the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and to Russian cosmonauts.
A revolutionary spacesuit
The solar space suit is central to a successful SolarStratos Mission, not only must it protect Raphael by regulating the temperature and pressure, but it also needs to shield him from solar radiation and provide him with Oxygen. Not forgetting the fact that he also requires a maximum of mobility to steer the aircraft.
The space suit, Sokol-KV2, developed by our partner Zvezda, is currently used by cosmonauts and astronauts as a survival suit in the event of depressurisation onboard Soyuz. Sokol means « launch – and reentry suit ». It is being customised for SolarStratos’ unique set of requirements. With limited energy onboard, the SolarStratos suit will be powered by the solar energy harvested by the aircraft during its climb into the stratosphere and will have two major advantages: a very low energy consumption and – at 30kgs – it is very light weight.
Constantly evolving
Our solar aircraft spent the winter in Berlin, Germany, undergoing some improvements and adjustments, including a new horizontal stabiliser that has reduced the overall weight by 1kg, larger landing gear that will give better stability and allow for a larger propeller, and airbrakes. Structural elements of the wings have also been strengthened and rigidity testing is currently underway.
First tandem flight
Our solar plane will be back in Payerne, Switzerland, in May and ready for action! The plan is to resume flying with medium-term goals of achieving our first tandem flight, reaching 3,000 metres, and putting Raphael on the controls. By the end of the year, we aim to be flying at 10,000 metres above sea level. This will make us the highest manned solar and electric aircraft in history.
Stratospheric greetings to you!
The SolarStratos team
Raphaël Domjan and Bertrand Piccard jump for the environment!
During the recent International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Chateaux-d’Oex, Raphael Domjan invited Bertrand Piccard to skydive from Pierrick Duvoisin’s eco-hot air balloon. Conditions were ideal with bright sunshine and very little wind for their ascent to 2,000 metres which was over in a matter of minutes. Bertrand jumped first, followed by Raphael. What goes up, must come down, and their 15 to 20 second freefall against the stunning backdrop had onlookers holding their breath. They deployed their parachutes and floated back down to land in the snow, completely unruffled. A spectacular way to celebrate a friendship between two eco-explorers!
http://www.illustre.ch/news/piccard-et-domjan-sautent-dune-montgolfiere
SolarStratos announces partnership with Kindercity
It’s official, SolarStratos is to partner Kindercity, the future educational centre for children that will be built at the heart of the Y-Parc Science and Technology Park in Yverdon-les-bains, just a few minutes from the SolarStratos headquarters. With over 100,000 visitors per year, the new City of Science will be the most visited site in the northern Vaud area, providing excellent visibility for the SolarStratos eco-adventure. The flight simulator in which Raphaël tests the airplane and simulates solar flights, will be at the heart of the exhibition, giving visitors the opportunity to experience the journey.
Raphaël Domjan named godfather of the 2018 edition of the Larécoère Raid
What an honour for Raphael and the SolarStratos team! To be named godfather of the 100th edition of the “Latécoère and Airmail lines”, started by Pierre-Georges Latécoère, is quite an accolade. Particularly for someone whose own ambition to reach for the stars is inspired by the legend himself. This annual rendezvous to celebrate a small group of pioneers will take legendary pilots on a 5,000km flight from Toulouse to Dakar in September.
http://www.raid-latecoere.org/centenaire-du-raid/
Stratospheric greetings to you!
The SolarStratos team
Destination stratosphere
“Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow.” One of the many sayings by Albert Einstein that Raphael Domjan lives by, and which perfectly illustrates the state of mind of the SolarStratos eco-adventure.
It is with this famous quote that we kick off our new year and our first newsletter, in which we present new partners, the SolarStratos Club, update you on Switzerland’s contribution to the world of solar energy and review some of our achievements from 2017 through a press review which is like flipping through a photo album!
Read on to find out more…
Essential support
At the start of the year and before we say a word about our achievements, we would like to give heartfelt thanks to our partners for their trust and loyalty. Without them, our eco-adventure would be impossible.
Various companies have recently joined our project and we welcome them onboard:
Official suppliers: MPS Micro Precisions Systems, Geneva Airport, Importexa
Official supporter: Aero-Design
Media Partner: Big Effects
Switzerland, a pioneer in renewable energy
The SolarStratos project is faithful to Switzerland’s pioneering past in the field of renewable energies. For instance, the first solar car race (the Tour de Sol), the first solar boat race (the Course des Trois Lacs, 1988), the first Atlantic crossing (Sun21, 2006-2007), the first solar-powered circumnavigation (PlanetSolar, 2010-2012) and the first solar-powered flight (Solar Impulse 2015-2016) all represented Switzerland.
SolarStratos is fully aligned with this heritage and enjoys strong support from the Confederation, in particular through the newly created ‘Swiss Solar Explorer’ label.
Welcome to the SolarStratos lub
Many of you support us on our pathway to the stratosphere, in fact over 900 of you are ‘SolarFriends’ and receive exclusive access to our newsletter to follow every step of our adventure.
Other more exclusive categories exist, including: SolarSupporter, SolarMember, Pilot, Navigator and even Voyager for the most ambitious. Over 100 people have joined the paid categories that provide concrete support to the programme and for which, they receive different levels of rewards or benefits, such as a ‘Mission’ badge, a certificate, a hangar visit, a simulator flight, a SolarStratos jacket and for the most committed of our supporters, a flight aboard SolarStratos!
We are delighted to share this wonderful and unique project with our SolarStratos Club members. If you would like to sign up, please go to: https://www.solarstratos.com/en/bepartofit/
Press review 2017
Last year was very exciting for the SolarStratos team, among other extraordinary achievements, we conducted the maiden flight of our stratospheric solar-powered aircraft! An unforgettable moment.
You can relive the highlights of 2017, and learn more about the interest around the world in the SolarStratos project by flicking through our press review, please click here:
Stratospheric greetings to you!
The SolarStratos team
Dear partners, supporters and friends,
2017 has been a rich, fabulous and moving year! We celebrated the maiden flight of our aircraft SolarStratos, developed our solar space suit, travelled to Montreal for the Quebec Northern Solar Festival in Canada and last but not least, finalised our superb base in Payerne, Switzerland.
Thanks to you, the SolarStratos eco-adventure continues apace. It is with great pleasure that the whole team joins me in thanking you for your unconditional support throughout the year. We are honoured to be able to count on you and to share the SolarStratos mission with you.
Below, you will find a video created by our director, Stephane Chopard, through which you can relive some of the highlights of the past year. We hope that you will enjoy it as much as we did.
Christmas Eve is fast approaching, so it just remains for me to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year.
There is much in store for SolarStratos in 2018 and I look forward to continuing to share this extraordinary eco-adventure with you.
Merry Christmas and an excellent New Year 2018.
Best wishes
Raphael
L’avion SolarStratos, un modèle expérimental
Après avoir effectué ses premiers vols d’essai, voici l’avion SolarStratos entré, pour la période hivernale, dans une phase de modélisation de informatique. Améliorations technologiques et transformations sont prévues par les ingénieurs. Elles concernent principalement la direction et la profondeur. Pour ce faire, SolarStratos passera quelques semaines du côté de Berlin, avant de revenir, d’ici à fin février 2018, à sa base de Payerne pour y poursuivre ses vols d’essai.
Jean-François Clervoy, en visite au siège de SolarStratos
« Si tu veux construire un avion, fais naître dans le cœur de tes hommes et femmes le désir du ciel ». Ce sont les premiers mots que Jean-François Clervoy, astronaute de l’Agence spatiale Européenne (ASE) et parrain de l’éco-aventure, a adressé à l’équipe lors de sa venue au siège de SolarStratos, à Yverdon. Ces paroles, tirées et adaptées d’une citation d’Antoine St-Exupéry, reflètent parfaitement l’état d’esprit de toute notre équipe, tant pas le désir que par l’enthousiasme de chacune et chacun. Jean-François Clervoy a également profité d’apporter son soutien et son admiration pour ce qu’il appelle « une aventure à la fois humaine et technologique ». Il rappelle aussi que le défi est de taille, pour Raphaël, futur et premier « stratonaute » solaire de l’histoire !
Un hangar, une équipe, une raclette
La Mission SolarStratos n’est pas uniquement un défi technologique. Si l’on en croit les propos de Raphaël, le projet n’aurait pas lieu sans une équipe pluridisciplinaire, motivée et enthousiaste. Afin de remercier tous les membres du team SolarStratos, l’éco-explorateur a concocté une soirée « raclette » au hangar de Payerne. L’occasion pour toute l’équipe de passer une soirée conviviale et de passer en revue tout ce qui a été fait durant l’année. Un beau moment de partage.
Nous y étions !
Si l’on vous dit que SolarStratos est présent à Payerne, vous nous direz qu’il n’y a rien de nouveau. En revanche, si nous vous annonçons que nous étions présents au Comptoir broyard, du 17 au 26 novembre, là c’est une nouveauté !
Cela a été l’occasion pour Roland Loos, notre CEO, de couper le traditionnel ruban, lors de la cérémonie d’ouverture du Comptoir.
Autres moments forts, la présence à plusieurs reprises de Raphaël, sur le stand de notre partenaire Soleol. Notre éco-explorateur a effectué plusieurs démonstrations de vol aux commandes du simulateur de SolarStratos, accompagné de chanceux visiteurs. De belles rencontres et un public conquis !
A bientôt.
Le Team SolarStratos
R&D inMoscou
At the end of September, we spoke of the tests carried out on Raphaël with the space suit made by our partners Zvezda in Moscow. Testing a space suit isn’t an easy job and it taught us plenty. First, temperature: Raphaël experienced a simulated flight to 13,000 metres at a temperature of -55° Celsius. Even with a heating system, extremities, including the hands, suffer from the cold. Consequently, we are going to have to improve the heating system so that Raphaël’s extremities do not freeze. The second lesson we learned: it isn’t easy to move in a space suit when it is pressurised. In fact, it is even difficult to bend legs and move feet. This is a problem for a pilot who needs to be precise on the rudder bar. Fortunately, the arms have more range. Consequently, we are going to have to adapt the controls so that plane is piloted with the hands only. With SolarStratos, the true meaning of research and development emerges! Find out more in our latest StratosTime!
A new partner
We are pleased to welcome Gaznat SA as a new partner! The Vevey-based company will supply our Mercedes-Benz B 250 E gaz (loaned by our partner Group Leuba) with natural biogaz. We use this car amongst others to pull the airplane, and thanks to this partnership, Raphaël has become a 100% biogaz driver. SolarStratos’ mobility is CO2 neutral but on top of this, Gaznat tops Raphaël’s consumption in Biogaz and reinjects it into the network. We wish to thank Gaznat and all our partners for their trust and support.
An operational and welcoming base
Raphaël and his team have used the last weeks of summer to improve the welcome area for VIPs, partners and journalists at the SolarStratos operational base. The South-East corner of the hangar is fully dedicated to the well-being of our guests: a “home-made” bar and a lounge, under a beautiful aluminium panel with the logos of all the partners that enable SolarStratos to exist!
Trade Fair
This autumn, the Romandy Trade Fairs will publicise our eco-adventure. For example, we are preparing our exhibit at the Broyard Fair with our partner Soleol, from 17 to 26 November. Come to see for yourself!
A bientôt !
Le team SolarStratos
The hot temperatures of the summer months might be moving south, but the mercury continues to soar at the SolarStratos base, particularly for Raphael trussed up in his space suit. We paid Zvezda, our Russian partners in Moscow, a visit this month to test our space suit in a depressurised chamber. Fortunately, Raphael was luckier than poor Captain Haddock who found a mouse at the bottom of his suit (for those who remember the famous Tintin story ‘Destination Moon’)! Other than a few drops of perspiration, Raphael was able to experience the effects that he will feel in the cockpit during his record breaking flight.
SolarStratos welcomes a key team member to the design group this month: Thomas Sandmann is an aeronautical engineer and becomes SolarStratos’ chief engineer for airworthiness and the reference person for the Federal Office of Civil Aviation. His contribution will allow us to reach the stratosphere with maximum security!
In parallel to Thomas’ studies, the technical team initiated its optimisation work on the aircraft this month, including on the tail and the rudders. The aim is to stabilise the aircraft and lighten the carbon structure to be able to fly two up. It is not an easy matter, but it will take a lot to discourage our technicians and engineers!
Beyond its technical aspects, SolarStratos is also an important communication tool for the promotion of renewable energies. To this end, Raphael and the team host events at the Payerne base and participate in others. This month saw the Leuba Group test hybrid cars on the runway in front of the SolarStratos hangar. Sixty people, including Raphael, put the hybrid and electric vehicles through their paces, overlooked by the solar plane. In mid-September, Raphael shared his passion for aviation by jumping from a helicopter with Geraldine Fasnacht during the 61st edition of the Gordon Bennett, the oldest aeronautical competition in the world. What a sight to see the SolarStratos logo emblazoned across his parachute amid the giant gas-powered balloons.
We also had the opportunity to exhibit a model of the solar aircraft at Geneva Airport. From 11-14 September, thousands of passengers saw the mini-SolarStratos, giving awareness of our eco-adventure a huge boost.
A busy month as you can see!
Thank you all for your loyalty. Until next month and our next newsletter!
The SolarStratos team.
Copyright images Gordon Bennett 2017 © Yves Erismann
