NASA’s Solar Sail Mission Is Finally Flying After Deployment Glitch

Despite a failed archetypal attempt, NASA deployed its pioneering star sail system, which volition harness vigor from the Sun to propel itself guardant done space.

The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is present afloat deployed aft NASA succeeded successful extending the mission’s experimental booms connected Thursday astatine 1:33 p.m. ET, the abstraction bureau announced. NASA teams volition statesman investigating the caller signifier of abstraction travel, initiating antithetic maneuvers to spot however good the sail fares successful orbit.

NASA’s star sail ngo launched successful April to trial caller materials and deployable structures for a propulsion strategy that runs connected photons from the Sun. A fewer months aft its launch, the mission’s sail became stuck erstwhile an onboard powerfulness show detected higher-than-expected centrifugal currents, pausing the unfurling process.

The ngo teams were palmy connected their 2nd effort to deploy the star sail, afloat unfurling it to agelong crossed 860 quadrate feet (80 quadrate meters), oregon astir arsenic ample arsenic fractional a tennis court. The sail needs to beryllium ample capable to make capable thrust, portion besides being astatine a precocious capable orbit to summation altitude and flooded atmospheric resistance utilizing the subtle unit of sunlight connected the sail. NASA’s star sail orbits Earth astatine astir doubly the altitude of the International Space Station.

With the star sail afloat deployed, it whitethorn beryllium disposable to observers from Earth. Using 4 cameras connected committee the spacecraft, NASA captured panoramic views of the unfurling process, which volition beryllium disposable connected September 4.

Over the adjacent fewer weeks, NASA engineers volition trial the maneuvering capabilities of the spacecraft, raising and lowering its orbit utilizing lone the unit of sunlight acting connected the sail. The mission’s archetypal formation signifier is designed to past for 2 months. “Raising and lowering the orbit of the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft volition supply invaluable accusation that whitethorn assistance usher aboriginal concepts of operations and designs for star sail-equipped subject and exploration missions,” NASA wrote successful its update.

NASA’s star sail ngo is meant to trial caller materials and deployable structures for the experimental propulsion systems, including caller composite booms that are utilized to unfurl the sail. The composite booms are made from a polymer material; they’re lightweight portion inactive being stiff and resistant to bending and warping erstwhile exposed to antithetic temperatures. They enactment the aforesaid mode arsenic a sailboat’s boom, but they are designed to drawback the propulsive powerfulness of sunlight alternatively than wind.

NASA is hoping this caller signifier of low-cost abstraction question tin assistance it much entree to antithetic destinations crossed the star system, though star sails are constricted by the durability of the materials and spacecraft physics systems.

Solar sails harness vigor produced by airy from the Sun, utilizing it to propel spacecraft forward. As the photons deed the spacecraft’s sails, it causes tiny bursts of momentum that propel it farther distant from the star. We’ll beryllium watching intimately arsenic this tiny cubesat, and this absorbing caller concept, takes its important archetypal babe steps successful space.