SolarStratos: Solar-powered plane smashes altitude record held for 15 years by Solar Impulse
August 14, 2025
Swiss eco‑explorer Raphaël Domjan has finally broken the historic Solar Impulse record for the highest altitude flight achieved with a solar-powered aircraft.
On 12 August 2025, Domjan piloted the SolarStratos aircraft HB-SXA from Sion, Switzerland, to a staggering 9,521 metres altitude (31,000 ft), powered not by roaring engines but by the sun’s quiet power and warm mountain thermals.
Five hours and nine minutes after takeoff, Domjan was eye‑to‑eye with jet streams, setting a new altitude record for manned solar‑powered flight.
At cruising altitude, Domjan even crossed paths with a commercial airliner, a powerful symbol of what the decarbonised aviation of tomorrow might look like. It’s a moment of quiet triumph born of ingenuity, patience and a dream of cleaner skies.
Breaking the record Solar Impulse has held for 15 long years
On the day of the flight, ideal weather aligned perfectly. Warm air currents rising over Valais gave Domjan the lift he needed, allowing his solar-powered aircraft to steadily climb above the Alpine peaks and into the thin, icy air of higher altitudes.
The flight this week surpassed the 9,235-metre altitude record set in 2010 by André Borschberg aboard Solar Impulse, a legacy Domjan keenly respects. That benchmark had stood firm for nearly 15 years until now.
“That’s for everyone who’s worked patiently for this moment,” Domjan announced after landing, his voice warm as the traditional Swiss raclette his team awaited on the tarmac. It was a brief but meaningful pause, a human celebration of a high-flown dream.
Yet, though he’d broken the record, Domjan remains humble. The data now heads to the World Air Sports Federation for confirmation, measured in standard density altitude.
Meanwhile, he eyes further horizons with soaring ambition to crack the 10,000-metre barrier. That altitude, where commercial airliners cruise, is just the next step on a journey with the stratosphere in sight, roughly 12,000 metres above Swiss skies.
Proving that the sky is not the limit for emission-free air travel
The slender SolarStratos aircraft, with solar cells blanketing its long wings, relies on batteries charged on the ground, while in flight it conserves energy with sunlight and thermals, a smart ballet between technology and nature.
SolarStratos is more than a record-chaser; it’s a beacon. The team describes this ascent as “a major milestone on the path toward reaching the stratosphere using only solar power,” aiming to “capture imaginations with emblematic, spectacular challenges that promote solar energy and the protection of our biosphere and planet”.
Domjan’s passion is rooted in a long career of impossible ambitions made real. In 2010, he led PlanetSolar, the first solar boat to circumnavigate the globe.
In 2020, he performed a solar-powered parachute jump from SolarStratos. His life’s work exists at the intersection of adventure and activism, silently proving that green technologies can rival and even surpass fossil fuels.
So, what will happen when he surpasses 10,000 metres? Perhaps we’ll witness the first manned solar stratospheric flight.
