Artist’s illustration of Planetary Society’s LightSail, set against the backdrop of the Milky Way.
Star travel is a cherished dream among space fans, but the question is … how to get there? Travel by light sails is perhaps the most romantic notion for star travel, relying on thin, lightweight reflective sails, powered by the sun or other stars. You start slow, but accelerate up to very fast speeds. Okay, maybe we’re not ready for star travel anytime soon, but maybe travel between planets in our own solar system? That may be closer to the goal of the Planetary Society, which announced this week (January 26, 2015) that the first of its LightSail spacecraft will embark on a May, 2015 test flight. The venture is funded entirely by private citizens.
The Planetary Society’s solar sail satellite will hitch a ride to space aboard an Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will test LightSail’s critical functions, a precursor to a second mission slated for 2016. That second flight will mark the first controlled, Earth-orbit solar sail flight and ride along with the first operational launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. Bill Nye (The Science Guy), CEO at The Planetary Society, said:
There’s an old saying in aerospace, ‘One test is worth a thousand expert opinions.’ After six years of development, we’re ready at last to see how LightSail flies.
LightSail is technically wonderful, but it’s also wonderfully romantic. We’ll sail on sunbeams.
But wait, there’s more: this unique, remarkable spacecraft is funded entirely by private citizens, people who think spaceflight is cool.
LightSail consists of four identical triangular sails attached to four 4-meter booms, resulting in a square solar sail when fully deployed.
The 2015 test flight will not carry the spacecraft high enough to escape Earth’s atmospheric drag, and will thus not demonstrate controlled solar sailing. Once in orbit, the spacecraft will go through a checkout and testing period of about four weeks before deploying its solar sails. After the sails unfurl, LightSail will test its attitude control system and study the behavior of the sails for a few days before it is pulled back into the planet’s atmosphere.
Key images and data on the spacecraft’s performance will be sent to ground stations at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Georgia Tech.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Hayden Planetarium director and Planetary Society board of directors member, added
With the expected launch of LightSail – a craft propelled among the stars on the pressure of light itself – the expanse of space becomes a literal analogue to the open seas. If space is tomorrow’s ocean, then Earth’s surface is its shoreline.
Read more from the Planetary Society
Bottom line: Space travel by LightSail relies on thin, lightweight reflective sails, powered by the sun. The Planetary Society plans a May, 2015 launch, followed by a second launch in 2016.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1CeuVgS
Artist’s illustration of Planetary Society’s LightSail, set against the backdrop of the Milky Way.
Star travel is a cherished dream among space fans, but the question is … how to get there? Travel by light sails is perhaps the most romantic notion for star travel, relying on thin, lightweight reflective sails, powered by the sun or other stars. You start slow, but accelerate up to very fast speeds. Okay, maybe we’re not ready for star travel anytime soon, but maybe travel between planets in our own solar system? That may be closer to the goal of the Planetary Society, which announced this week (January 26, 2015) that the first of its LightSail spacecraft will embark on a May, 2015 test flight. The venture is funded entirely by private citizens.
The Planetary Society’s solar sail satellite will hitch a ride to space aboard an Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will test LightSail’s critical functions, a precursor to a second mission slated for 2016. That second flight will mark the first controlled, Earth-orbit solar sail flight and ride along with the first operational launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. Bill Nye (The Science Guy), CEO at The Planetary Society, said:
There’s an old saying in aerospace, ‘One test is worth a thousand expert opinions.’ After six years of development, we’re ready at last to see how LightSail flies.
LightSail is technically wonderful, but it’s also wonderfully romantic. We’ll sail on sunbeams.
But wait, there’s more: this unique, remarkable spacecraft is funded entirely by private citizens, people who think spaceflight is cool.
LightSail consists of four identical triangular sails attached to four 4-meter booms, resulting in a square solar sail when fully deployed.
The 2015 test flight will not carry the spacecraft high enough to escape Earth’s atmospheric drag, and will thus not demonstrate controlled solar sailing. Once in orbit, the spacecraft will go through a checkout and testing period of about four weeks before deploying its solar sails. After the sails unfurl, LightSail will test its attitude control system and study the behavior of the sails for a few days before it is pulled back into the planet’s atmosphere.
Key images and data on the spacecraft’s performance will be sent to ground stations at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Georgia Tech.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Hayden Planetarium director and Planetary Society board of directors member, added
With the expected launch of LightSail – a craft propelled among the stars on the pressure of light itself – the expanse of space becomes a literal analogue to the open seas. If space is tomorrow’s ocean, then Earth’s surface is its shoreline.
Read more from the Planetary Society
Bottom line: Space travel by LightSail relies on thin, lightweight reflective sails, powered by the sun. The Planetary Society plans a May, 2015 launch, followed by a second launch in 2016.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1CeuVgS
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