Astronomy

4114 readers

57 users here now

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Advanced solar sail mission prepares to catch the wind in the void of space (newatlas.com)

submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

2 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The interesting part of the article:

The new flexible polymer and carbon composite boom is coupled with a twelve-unit (12U) CubeSat built by NanoAvionics. After the mission launches atop a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand, the spacecraft will go into a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 600 miles (~1,000 km) and the sail will deploy in about 25 minutes to cover an area of 860 ft² (80 m²) with the boom unfolding from the size of a hand to 23 ft (7 m) long. Once deployed, the sail will adjust the vehicle's orbit by angling itself in relation to the solar wind.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

Yar! Sailing the Solar Winds! TBH, been waiting for this since I first heard of solar sails. Yay, ingenious tool using primates!!!