The achievement is "one of those unforgettable peaks that define great human and technological adventures," the SolarStratos ...

Swiss aviator Raphaël Domjan, founder of the SolarStratos project, reaches an altitude of 9,521 meters or over 31,200 feet.

Swiss pilot Raphaël Domjan flew the SolarStratos solar-powered aircraft to 8,224 meters on Aug. 10, setting a personal record but falling short of the 9,235-meter world mark held by Solar Impulse.

GENEVA - Swiss pilot Raphael Domjan has beaten the altitude record for a solar-powered electric plane in a flight that took ...

Swiss pilot Raphael Domjan got within around a thousand metres of setting a new altitude record in a solar-powered plane on ...

Swiss pilot Raphael Domjan beat the altitude record for a solar-powered electric plane in a flight that took him soaring to 9 ...

Swiss pilot Raphael Domjan on Friday made his first attempt of the year at setting a new aviation record: reaching an ...

The SolarStratos plane didn't reach its goal of 10,000 metres but still exceeded its highest solar flight ever.

The SolarStratos airplane weighs 992 pounds and is 27’11” in length. Its solar cells cover 240 square feet of its 81-ft. wingspan, with energy stored in a lithium-ion battery pack.

The SolarStratos team expects the commercial, two-seater plane to hit the skies in 2018 without the use of “large quantities of energy or helium” it’d usually take to reach space.

SolarStratos is equipped with 22 sq m (237 sq ft) of solar panels. These charge a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which powers a 32-kW electric motor that in turn drives a 2.2-m (7.2-ft) propeller.

SolarStratos is 9.6 metres long, and its huge wingspan of 24.8 metres accommodates the 22 square metres of high-spec solar panels topping the wings, and allows for flying at low speeds.