On August 12, 2025, from Sion airport in Switzerland, eco-explorer Raphaël Domjan flew the SolarStratos HB-SXA aircraft to an altitude of 9,521 meters above the Valais Alps. This is the highest flight ever achieved by an electric manned aircraft powered solely by solar energy, surpassing the record set by Solar Impulse in 2010.
Record flight awaiting validation
For five hours and nine minutes, the aircraft was powered by solar panels and thermal updrafts. At cruising altitude, Domjan came close to matching a commercial airliner, a moment that symbolizes the real possibility of coexisting with conventional aviation without the need for fossil fuels.
The record will be evaluated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which must confirm the altitude figure according to its standards. The SolarStratos team expects official certification to arrive in the coming weeks, consolidating another step towards its goal of reaching the stratosphere solely on renewable energy.
Light engineering and clean energy
On SolarStratos is 9.6 meters long and has a wingspan of 24.8 meters covered with high-performance solar panels. Its carbon fiber structure ensures lightness and strength, allowing it to take off at low speeds and maintain a fuel-efficient cruise. This design seeks to demonstrate that decarbonized decarbonized aviation is possible and viable.
Domjan, a pioneer in clean technology exploration, had already circumnavigated the globe in a solar boat in 2012. Now his goal is to take aviation into the stratospherereaching 12,000 meters, where the frontier of high-altitude flight begins. SolarStratos’ journey is not just a technical record, it is a message about what the future of the skies could look like.
Source and photo: SolarStratos
