William Atkins
Wednesday, 13 August 2008 22:32
Science -
Space
Page 2 of 3
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Ames Research Center developed the spacecraft. This attempt by NASA with its NanoSail-D spacecraft was the fifth recent attempt to launch a solar-sail powered spacecraft into orbit for testing purposes.
In 2001 and 2005, two spacecraft (a suborbital flight with an unnamed spacecraft and Cosmos-1, respectively) were launched as part of a project headed by the U.S. space organization The Planetary Society.
In 2004, the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) successfully deployed two prototype solar sails, consisting of 7.5 micrometer thick film, from a sounding rocket. A "clover" shaped sail was deployed at an altitude of about 73 miles (122 kilometers) and a "fan" shaped sail was deployed at an altitude of approximately 100 miles (169 kilometers).
Both sails used 7.5 micrometer thick film. The mission was a test to analyze the deployment mechanism of the sail and not as a test of the propulsion capability of the craft.
In 2006, a 15-meter-diameter solar sail was launched along with the primary payload, the AKARI (ASTRO-F) infrared astronomy satellite, both developed by the Japan Aeropace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The solar-powered craft reached its intended orbit, but the solar sails failed to open completely.
After the unsuccessful launch of NanoSail-D, NASA has stated that it does not have any immediate plans to launch another solar-sail spacecraft into space.
The Planetary Society, along with Cosmos Studios, has announced that is it hopeful that the Cosmos-2 spacecraft will eventually be launched aboard a Russian Soyuz Fregat rocket.
Additional information on the Cosmos-2 mission is found on The Planetary Society’s website “
New Developments on the Road to Cosmos 2.”
For a short explanation and history of solar sail spacecraft, please turn to page three.
