SolarStratos is planning to fly a solar-powered plane to an altitude of over 80,000 ft (24,000 m), from where the curvature of the Earth as well as daytime stars will be visible.

The aim of the project is to demonstrate the potential of renewable energy and to explore the possibility of flying people to such altitudes using solar technology. Although it began in 2014, it has hit a significant milestone this month with the completion of the hangar that will serve as the team's operational base, in which the SolarStratos plane will be developed and maintained and from where testing will be carried out.

The plane has been built by electric- and solar-aircraft firm PC-Aero, which was behind the Elektra One plane, and its solar systems have been developed by the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology.