{"id":9466,"date":"2014-11-22T08:59:27","date_gmt":"2014-11-22T15:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=9466"},"modified":"2014-11-22T08:59:27","modified_gmt":"2014-11-22T15:59:27","slug":"solarstratos-construction-begin-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/solarstratos-construction-begin-january\/","title":{"rendered":"SolarStratos Construction to Begin in January"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just as we have competing teams working out their plans to cross the Atlantic on electrically-powered wings, several projects are aiming high, attempting to reach altitudes normally achieved only by SR-71 pilots.\u00a0 With balloon jumps topping 130,000 feet and the Perlan Project<\/a> in final stages of construction for test flights early next year, the latest entrant in stratosphere-busting climbs will attempt the mission on batteries and solar power.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"SolarStratos<\/a>

SolarStratos on its five-hour climb to 80,000 feet. Rendering by SolarStratos<\/p><\/div>\n

Raphael Domjan, a self-described \u201ceco-adventurer\u201d and founder of Mission SolarStratos,<\/a> will attempt by 2017 to top 80,000 feet in a two-seat, twin-motored craft designed and built by Calin Gologan and his PC-Aero team<\/a>.\u00a0 The airplane, a long-winged derivation of Gologan\u2019s Elektra Two Solar, will rely on recent developments between Gologan and his American Partner, George Bye.\u00a0 They’ve formed the American Electric Aircraft Corporation<\/a>, dedicated to building, testing and certifying a two-seat trainer.<\/p>\n

Solar Stratos has a 24.4-meter (80.8 feet) wing, 7.4 meters (9.84 feet) longer than that on the longest-span Elektra Two.\u00a0 Somehow, PC-Aero has managed to add only 50 kilograms (110 pounds) to the Elektra\u2019s 350 kilogram (770 pound) maximum takeoff weight for the larger craft.\u00a0 Part of this may come from Solar Stratus\u2019 short conventional gear, which replaces the retractable system on the Elektra Two.\u00a0 Additional area for solar cells will allow the airplane to fly on solar power alone at its maximum altitude, necessary because the energy needed five-hour climb to maximum altitude will probably drain the 80 kilograms (176 pounds) of lithium-ion batteries on board.<\/p>\n

\"Seeing<\/a>

Seeing “the stars at noon” will be part of voyages into the stratosphere. Rendering by SolarStratos<\/p><\/div>\n

Domjan hopes to take others aloft to see the stars at noon and the curvature of the earth\u2019s horizon, but passengers will have to be hardy souls willing to train for the serious business of wearing a lightweight pressure suit, the airplane\u2019s own light weight not allowing pressurization.\u00a0 Solar Stratos might benefit from the Perlan Project\u2019s experiences with loaned NASA space suits.\u00a0 Einar Enevoldson and Steve Fossett had issues even going to their 50,671 foot altitude record in 2006.<\/p>\n

\"Raphael<\/a>

Raphael Domjan practicing free falls in the Realfly facility in Sion, Switzerland. Photo courtesy SolarStratos<\/p><\/div>\n

Domjan is in training himself, according to this week\u2019s Solar Stratos press release, working out in free-fall sessions at Realfly in Sion, Switzerland <\/a>and presumably with jumps from altitude.\u00a0 Geraldine Fasnacht, heading up security for the SolarStrator and Realfly teams, has assisted in training and preparations for the long flights ahead.\u00a0 Making \u201cdozens of jumps in the space of a few months, Domjan has also tested biomedical telemetry systems developed by the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), while in simulated free fall at Realfly.<\/p>\n

With construction of SolarStratos starting soon, Domjan can look forward to test flights by 2016 and by 2017 attaining \u201can altitude of around 80,000 feet (over 24 kilometers or 14.88 miles), where temperatures of about -70 \u00b0 C prevail.\u201d \u00a0By 2018, the team hopes to start commercial flights to altitude.<\/p>\n

The press release noted the presence of an elite support team.\u00a0 \u201cTo meet this challenge, Raphael was already surrounded by a team of specialists, such as Michael Lopez-Alegria, astronaut and Flight Director Calin Gologan, engineer and manufacturer of the aircraft, G\u00e9raldine Fasnacht, wingsuit pilot, professional and responsible for flight safety rider, as well as other experts in engineering, meteorology, computer science and communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others include \u201cEdgar Mitchell, the sixth astronaut to set foot on the moon in 1971, and lunar module pilot on the Apollo 14 Mission;\u00a0Andr\u00e9 Schneider, vice president of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL);\u00a0Cedric Borbo\u00ebn, deputy director and wealth manager at Lombard Odier & Cie SA in Geneva, Founder & President of the Economic Forum North Vaudois;\u00a0Miroslaw Hermaszewski, the first Polish astronaut, to have made a single flight as experimenter aboard Soyuz 30 in 1978;\u00a0Raphael and his team are pleased to welcome these new sponsors eco-adventure SolarStratos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Domjan and his team look next to \u201copen a door\u201d on solar electric flight and near-space commercial trips for passengers and scientists.\u00a0 Jean Verne, the grandson of Jules Verne, and Marie-Vincente Lat\u00e9co\u00e8re (from the Pierre-Georges Lat\u00e9co\u00e8re Foundation) support the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral partners have joined the adventure.\u00a0This is Solstis SA, Horus Networks S\u00e0rl, CSEM, PC-Aero GmbH, the City of Lausanne, e-Management, and RealFly Heli-Lausanne.\u201d<\/p>\n

Domjan\u2019s ecologically-inspired adventurous spirit conquered the world\u2019s oceans between September 2010 and May 2012 as he and a five-man crew sailed around the world using the energy generated by 500 square meters (5,382 square feet) of solar cells to power PlanetSolar, the world\u2019s largest solar-powered boat<\/a>.\u00a0 He hopes to inspire others with his environmentally conscious adventures, while testing his personal limits and the limits of current technology.<\/p>\n

Those wanting to support the effort will find varying levels of support, from a free subscription to the organization\u2019s newsletter to a high-altitude flight in SolarStratos itself.\u00a0 Under the heading \u201cBe With Us,\u201d SolarStratos promises the following: \u201cYou can join the club “SolarStartos” and follow us in our new venture.\u00a0Everyone can join in the fun, but there [are] still 10 places for people wishing to live the adventure of solar flight in SolarStratos and approach some of our star, in silence.\u00a0For 50,000 euros ($62,000), these future “StratosVoyagers” will live a unique experience, they will be the first passengers of a solar airplane and become ambassadors of the potential of renewable energy.\u00a0This prestigious club will also fund the early stages of the project “SolarStratos.”<\/p>\n