LightSail spacecraft set for first test flight

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

Nearly four decades after Carl Sagan first discussed the concept on national television, a non-governmental organization co-founded by the American cosmologist and astrophysicist plans to conduct a test-flight of a solar sail spacecraft later on this month.

“There’s just a tremendously exciting prospect called solar sailing,” Sagan said on an episode of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1976, according to Gizmodo. He added that it “travels on the radiation and particles that come out of the sun, the wind from the sun,” and since it has “a constant acceleration,” it would be able to travel “a lot faster” than traditional rockets.

On May 20, The Planetary Society (which was co-founded by Sagan in 1980) will put his theory to the test, as it will conduct a test flight of the LightSail spacecraft he envisioned nearly 40 years ago. Thought it may not be the first ever test of a solar sail vehicle, as the website points out that the US and Japan have already successfully demonstrated the concept, the $4.5 million craft may revolutionize the technology by offering a more affordable alternative to space travel.

About LightSail

According to space advocacy organization’s website, the LightSail project involves a pair of tiny spacecraft (about the same size as a loaf of bread, according to Tech Times) outfitted with large, reflective sails measuring 344 square feet (32 square meters). It will use solar energy as a means of propulsion, collecting energy and momentum from mass-less photons for power.

“Solar sail spacecraft capture light momentum with large, lightweight mirrored surfaces – sails,” the group explained. “As light reflects off a sail, most of its momentum is transferred, pushing on the sail. The resulting acceleration is small, but continuous. Unlike chemical rockets that provide short bursts of thrust, solar sails thrust continuously and can reach higher speeds over time.”

LightSail is what is known as a CubeSat, or a miniature spacecraft that are carried into space on rockets transporting larger payloads. Once it enters orbit, its solar arrays will open up to reveal the innards of the vehicle. Four metal booms, similar in design to tape measures, will unwind and reveal four triangular, Mylar sails, each of which is one-fourth as thick as an average trash bag.

“Three electromagnetic torque rods aboard LightSail will interact with Earth’s magnetic field, orienting the spacecraft. “Ground-based lasers will measure the effect of sunlight on the sails. As LightSail breezes around the Earth, its shiny sails will be visible from the ground,” The Planetary Society added. If the May 20 test is successful, an actual launch is planned for April 2016.

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