On August 12, 2025, the Swiss pilot and explorer Raphaël Domjan reached a historic goal: he flew to 9,521 meters above sea level on board SolarStratosa calendar and electric plane, establishing a new world record for this category of aircraft.
In the clear sky above the Swiss Alps, Domjan has exceeded the barrier of 31,000 feet, even flying over a plane of commercial line. The scene, suggestive and symbolic, offered a powerful image of the contrast between two worlds: one fueled by tons of fossil fuel, the other driven exclusively by the sun and the thermal currents.
The take -off took place from Zion airport in the Canton Valais. After more than two hours of constant climb, Domjan touched 9,521 meters above sea level, beating the previous record of 2010 (9,235 meters), obtained by André Borschberg aboard the famous Solar Impulse. To deal with rarefied air and extreme temperatures, the pilot wore a pressurized suit similar to those used by astronauts. Domjan, still visibly excited, commented on his business:
Flying up there, pushed only by solar energy, was an indescribable emotion. A moment out of time.
A very light plane
The HB-SXA aircraft, built by the German company Elektra Solar and modified by the SolarStratos team, weighs just 450 kilograms and recalls more a hill than a traditional plane. Its thin wings, 25 meters long, are covered by over 22 square meters of solar panels, able to feed two electric engines for more than 24 hours, depending on the weather conditions.
The system also has a 20 kWh lithium ion battery as a reserve energy source, but for this flight the sun has been exploited mainly, together with the ascense currents generated by the soil heated by the summer sun. A new variable pace propeller, recently installed, has improved the performance of the vehicle to the high altitudes.
Although the passenger compartment is not pressurized – a choice that makes every technical detail fundamental for security – the flight took place without hitches. At the end of July, the prototype already counted over 100 hours of experimental flight.
The dream of touching 25,000 meters and contributing to climatic science
The Solarstratos team focuses even higher: the final goal is to reach the stratosphere, at about 25,000 meters above sea level. During the next missions, defined as a real “stratospheric odyssey”, precious atmospheric data will be collected for climate studies and on the high terrestrial atmosphere.
Domjan, already known for guiding Planetsolarthe first solar boat to have circumnavigated the globe, has been a supporter of sustainable mobility for years. His commitment responds to the urgency to reduce CO₂ emissions in the aerial sector, which today represent about 2.5% of global emissions.
In the United States, the regulatory opening has already started: the FAA has recently updated the rules to include electric and hydrogen propulsion in the light sport Aircraft. The White House has also announced policies in favor of electric flight and the removal of some prohibitions on the supersonic flight. These signals indicate that although the sun aviation is not yet suitable for the transport of passengers or goods on a large scale, the first electric commercial flights are increasingly close.
The message launched by Solarstratos is clear: clean aviation is no longer a utopia, but a concrete reality, capable of going higher and higher. Even if reaching the stratosphere will be a complex challenge, this first flight shows what is already possible to achieve with sun, ingenuity and determination.
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