May 20 2015 Mission Control Launch

Big ideas start small and grow. With todays technology advancing at a rapid rate it is no wonder that Carl Sagan has a hefty hand in it. The Planetary Society has announced the upcoming launch of LightSAIL.

The notion of the sun’s rays interacting with a celestial object led Kepler to believe that a space sail might one day capture sunlight the way a boat sail catches the wind. In a 1608 letter to Galileo Galilei, Kepler wrote that the humans might one day use the technology to set a course for the stars:

“Provide ships or sails adapted to the heavenly breezes, and there will be some who will brave even that void.” 
— Johannes Kepler

The Planetary Report.

In the inaugural issue, Sagan described the goals of The Planetary Society:

“If we are as successful as at least some experts think we are likely to be, we may be able to accomplish not only our initial goal of demonstrating a base of popular support for planetary exploration; but also to provide some carefully targeted funds for the stimulation of critical activities.”

Those activities would eventually include solar sailing. The quest for flight by light was not over.

 LightSail is a CubeSat. These tiny spacecraft often hitch rides to orbit aboard rockets carrying bigger payloads. LightSail is a three-unit CubeSat about the size of a loaf of bread.

Once in space, LightSail’s solar arrays swing open, revealing the inside of the spacecraft. Four tape measure-like metal booms slowly unwind from storage, unfolding four triangular, Mylar sails. Each sail is just 4.5 microns thick—one-fourth the thickness of 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. We’ll organize viewing campaigns to show people where to look.

The first 2015 LightSail spacecraft will hitch a ride to orbit aboard an Atlas V rocket for a shakedown cruise. It won’t fly high enough above the Earth’s atmosphere for solar sailing, but will test the sail deployment sequence and snap some pretty pictures in case you miss it.

On May 20th 2015 people Worldwide can watch live via the Mission Control Center  on their website.

The Planetary Society website page/ LightSAILS provides all of the information here: http://sail.planetary.org/

If you would like to help the project with a donation, please do on their website. They need a bit more financial assistance for the next mission in 2016.

The information provided on their website is available for reproduction on the web.