Hey, welcome back to another initiative cool stuff ride home where of course we bring you some of the more interesting and downright cool stories from around the globe.

Coming up on this episode, a record-breaking flight offers a glimpse into the future of clean aviation.

Plus, the race for space internet is colliding with humanity's oldest science.

Details on the way.

All that and a look at this day in history.

Coming up, it's cool stuff.

Let's have a look at an article from ZME science and author Tudor Therita.

On a summer afternoon, high above the Swiss Alps, Rafael Domion stared out at a commercial airliner flying below him.

At 9,500 meters or 31,000 feet, Domian was alone in a feather-light aircraft powered not by jet fuel, but exclusively by the sun.

For more than five hours on August 12th, the Swiss Explorer climbed and coasted

through the thin air in solar stratos, a solar electric plane no heavier than a grand piano,

breaking the world altitude record for its class, pending official confirmation. The aircraft,

called the HB-SXA, is part of a bold attempt to prove that solar-powered flight is not only possible, but ready to rival some conventional aircraft at high altitudes.

Domion later wrote, quote, up there facing the sun that powers our wings, flying without burning a single drop of fuel, is an indescribable feeling,

a moment out of time, end quote.

Domian's flight took off from Cyan Airport in western Switzerland and climbed steadily for over

two hours.

Flying alone and dressed at a pressure suit more often seen on astronauts than aviators, he reached 9,521 meters,

just over 31,200 feet. It's the highest demand solar electric aircraft has ever flown,

beating the previous record of 9,235 meters set in 2010 by Solar Impulse pilot pilot Andre Borsberg. At cruising height,

Domian's aircraft briefly crossed paths with a commercial jetliner, one burning tons of

fuel, the other floating on solar power and alpine thermals. The contrast was poetic, but

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