Pilot Claims Altitude Record for Electric Solar Plane

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

Jack Daleo

Friday, August 15, 2025 at 03:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Jack Daleo

Swiss pilot Raphaël Domjan reaches an altitude of 9,521 meters in an electric, solar-powered aircraft. [Courtesy: SolarStratos]

Key Takeaways:

Swiss pilot Raphaël Domjan unofficially broke the altitude record for electric, solar-powered aircraft, reaching 9,521 meters (over 31,200 feet) in his SolarStratos HB-SXA plane.
This flight surpassed the previous 2010 record set by André Borschberg and is currently under review by the World Air Sports Federation for official recognition.
Domjan's SolarStratos project aims to demonstrate the potential of sustainable aviation and plans a future "stratospheric odyssey" to collect scientific data and advance high-performance eco-friendly aircraft.

See a mistake? Contact us.

A Swiss pilot claims to have broken the more than 15-year-old altitude record for electric, solar-powered aircraft.

Raphaël Domjan on Tuesday flew an electric plane propelled by solar cells, registered HB-SXA, to an altitude of 9,521 meters, or over 31,200 feet, according to his SolarStratos project. At that altitude, SolarStratos said, Domjan soared over the Swiss Alps and even crossed paths with a commercial airliner.