Flying to the edge of space using only solar power

Raphaël Domjan is an eco explorer and for his latest project, SolarStratos, he has built an electric plane powered by solar panels. The hope is to reach an altitude of 80,000 feet, setting a record for being the first manned solar plane to reach the stratosphere.

The aim of SolarStratos is to show what can be achieved through solar energy with the hope that the aviation industry takes notice and steers away from fossil fuel to more sustainable sources of power. They also plan to use the plane for scientific purposes - with zero-emissions, the plane can take sensitive atmospheric measurements without contaminating the samples with its own exhaust.

Footage courtesy of SolarStratos / Raphaël Domjan

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Reporter Shini Somara:

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[gordonlawrence]

I think a ducted prop (rather then ducted fan) is more efficient than just a prop due to the differences in tip vortex shaping. Ducted propellers work on a much larger volume of air at a lower speed than ducted fans which is how they beat them on efficiency at low speeds. They beat normal props by nearly eliminating the tip vortex issue.

[TheWinezen]

Perhaps the next version would be able to incorporate more solar cells along the fuselage sides of the plane so that the plane can produce power from rising and setting sun periods. Every square foot counts. Also, if the engine can be mounted in the rear, it would reduce the turbulence going through the entire body of the plane and increase laminar flow which will contribute to better lift and efficient power usage. You just have to use taller landing gears that will let you tilt for take-off and land more safely without damaging the rotors.

[nielsdaemen]

4:58 *That's the most stupid thing i've ever heard!*

[Electrohydrodynamics]

I am curious about manually pressurizing the cockpit like Perlan II. Is this a consideration?

[joseluiselizondo]

Muchas felicidades por tu proyecto . :)

[TimAllan-xfql]

That is amazing, I've dreamed of just such a flying capability, and to be in those flite levels in a solar powered glider type craft, an everydays man, powered u-2, adventure flying, and now, here you go, , on just such a craft as I had dreamed and now the, " spontaneous, same idea, " has triggered here and there around the globe, as is seen from time to time, in other kinds of fields and persuites, (sp), the adventurous minds of dreamers, applied! Great thing for you and your team !

[JohnSmith-pcgc]

A plasma cutter puts a high voltage, high Amp current through a stream of compressed air. A critically dense plasma is opaque to light and other radiation. If you focused the light from a parabolic trough mirror onto a stream of critically dense plasma, you could heat up the plasma to even more extreme high temperatures and capture much of the solar energy. A hundred square meters of solar cells costs maybe $10, 000. A hundred square meters of mirrored mylar over a flexible plastic sheet might cost a small fraction. A wing tends to naturally bend up into the shape of parabola. With some aerodynamic struts to hold the exact shape, the same area could collect five tines more solar thermal than photovoltaic energy. Focused through a strip of glass covering a long slit in a cylinder, a solar ram jet could be quite simple. Solar panels also tend to be heavy. A silghtly tapered cylinder would be like a long rocket engine and possibly a lot more efficient with more of the heat working against the walls of the engine. A blast of compressed air down the middle if the cylinder that is turned into plasma at the front by a high voltage arc receives the solar energy. The walls of the cylinder would heat up from the heat of the plasma and provide more heat to the mass of air moving through the cylinder. The plasma could be extended the length of the cylinder by having more electrodes at intervals and injecting more compressed air into towards the center at a slight angle to the cylinder. But the heat from the solar might maintain the plasma at the center for the entire length. Just heading towards the sun would focus the sunlight on the plasma. If the cylinder is a little longer than the focal area, the angle of the sun to the horizon will not be as much of a factor. If the solar concentration is 1000:1, the plasma might be easily maintained for the length of the cylinder once a plasma is created at the front end by a high voltage arc. A powerful electric motor comoressor at the front and a turbine/generator at the exhaust end might allow it to use hydrogen or other jet fuel to get off the ground and up to ram speed. That would eliminate the need for a drive shaft down the middle where the plasma is.
A hundred square meters of mirrored, swept wings might collect near 100, 000 watts of solar energy compared to only 20, 000 watts of electricity from solar panels. If the electricity from solar panels was used to create an electric arc to drive a jet engine, it would be maybe one-fourth as powerful as the concentrated solar thermal collector.
With swept wings and a ram jet engine, the plane might easily get into space as it goes faster and higher in the thinner and thinner air. A little bit of fuel to maneuver in space and return to the atmosphere combined with the large wingspan to brake the plane while providing a lot of lift and distributing the heat over a much larger area might eliminate the need for a heat shield except on the most forward parts. Using subsonic air to cool hollow, forward facing parts is another option. Or interior liquid cooling.
Once the plane is in space where there is no air resistance, it could deploy huge mylar surfaces to make a funnel to collect the very sparse hydrogen available in space. Accelerated to near the speed of light by high voltage plates along the length of the cylinder and confined by pulsed high magnetic field coils, the plane might travel through space at near the speed of light after a few years of solar energy from a thousand square kilometer mylar parabolic dish. Or maybe not. But it would be going pretty fast.

[Bloodgod]

Building a plane that will remain airborne on solar power _while the sun shines_ is easy. Building a plane that carries batteries capable of powering it through the night, and then has enough solar input to both keep it flying _and_ charge those batteries during the day... now that's the real trick. And yet, it was done... a couple guys flew around the world non stop on such a plane.

[Derakday]

umm i dont think you can reach higher than 18000ft becoz :
-first the higher altitude have the thiner air density, the propeller will have a huge drop on efficiency unstill stalling.
-second the heat will very hard to get rip from your plane in stratosphere and you have a keep running propeller and the solar panels is also receiving the heat.

Anyway I hope you can find the solutions the solve those problem.

[arthurrobey]

Solar powered airships would be a better option. There is always solar power above the clouds during the day.
Solar energy is converted into potential energy as a store of power for night-time flying.

[Iiifly]

Would it be better to use bifacial modules and can skin be translucent?

[KarimMirhady]

The Lilium Jet combines the convenience of vertical take-off capability with the speed of a jet for intercity regional missions. It features 30 battery-electric motors within the main wings and the flaps of the canards, which are the only moving exterior parts.

[agnarrenolen]

What’s the stall speed and the flutter speed of this aircraft at 80, 000 ft?

[greenrevolutionmusic]

I wish we can get sponsors of this type of project in African countries

[sundararajanjd]

Wish you successful projects in your aim to reduce use of fossil fuels & stop climate change

[Nanobits]

I guess nobody in the comments brought up the issue with the thin wings and lack of air pressure at that altitude. How do you get that high with so little atmosphere?

[harrybou]

If I’m not understanding wrong, this acft can only fly in VMC?

[pyroman]

This is cool, but not realy an option for civil aviation. This is a very small plane for one person, with large wing span. Wouldn't work for a big plane for many people, the surface to volume and mass just doesn't make it possible.

[hauntedcaptainphoenix]

Now make it as a submarine you could make the wings foldable that folds inside the submarine would be cool to have a flying submarine. That can also drive on water with hydrofoils. Or a water plan.

[Arlekin]

It's so dark there (in space) ))))