Planetary Society's solar sail test roaring success in space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An experimental solar holiday is being called a success three shows after its arrival in memory space.

The Planetary Society said The day before the 24th its test flight resulted in a nearly full deployment of the sail — an estimated 90 percent to ninety five percent of the 344-square feet light beam and shiny surface — and allows set the stage for a a muslim mission next year.

The goal will be to create a sail that can be propelled associated with space by sunlight, thus getting exploration to practically anyone, anytime.

"Solar sailing is worth doing this is because has the potential to democratize space, very well said the society's chief executive officer, Costs Nye, more commonly known as Bill Ny indk?bte the Science Guy. Small organizations have the ability to build solar sails and blast spacecraft to "almost any locale in the solar system if you have time. One can get there because you never run out of power. The sun shines all the time. "

Spacecraft using solar sails could be build chase asteroids and comets, and / or observe the sun's violent storms.

"There really isn't much of a limit of what you can do in the solar system, " Ny indk?bte told reporters, "and this LightSail test flight is the first a bit step on that long journey. "

A new Mylar sail for the current LightSail spacecraft is bigger that many living spaces — 344 square feet when outstretched, expanded, outspread flat. It was folded into a small amount of boxy spacecraft for its May tjugo launch from Cape Canaveral, hitchhiking on a secretive Air Force space aeroplanes mission.

For days, the LightSail teams struggled with a series of vexing computer system software problems with the spacecraft once things reached orbit. The sail earnings opened Sunday on the third get. It wasn't until seeing an image beamed down of the open holiday, on Tuesday, that the society surely could declare success.

"That was is often thrill" seeing the picture, said about manager Doug Stetson. "This has truly been a roller coaster ride using emotions, a lot of sleepless nights. "

To the orbit gradually declining, LightSail is just expected to re-enter the atmosphere this behavior weekend.

The society knew finally, the flight would be short given LightSail's relatively low orbit. The main motive was to demonstrate the release and surgery of the sail. Next year's spacecraft will shoot for a higher orbit and as well , take a crack at true pv sailing.

A similar experiment by the crowd ended in failure 10 years ago in may when the Russian rocket failed to the particular solar sail in orbit. At this point, the society relied on an Western Atlas V rocket.

The LightSail project was funded by players and supporters of the Pasadena, California-based Planetary Society, a nonprofit memory space interest group co-founded by the at the rear of Carl Sagan in 1980.

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