LightSail – the solar sailing spacecraft

The Planetary Society, a publicly-funded space advocacy group founded by the late Carl Sagan, is developing a satellite propelled by solar wind
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Power: Solar panels swing open to power LightSail’s instruments

Dual cameras: Photograph solar sail deployment every seven seconds

TRAC† booms: Unwind 4 metres, unfurling four triangular sails

Sail folded away

10cm

Avionics

Structure: 3 CubeSat * modules stacked together

Atlas V rocket: LightSail to hitch ride on mission carrying Boeing X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle

*small, cost-effective spacecraft comprising 1-litre volume cubes

Mylar sail: Fully deployed it is 4.5 microns thick (quarter thickness of garbage bag), with surface area of 32m2

Sail

SUN

LIGHT

THRUST

Momentum of photons transferred to sail, generating continuous acceleration

4m

1 2 3 4
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Sources: The Planetary Society, NASA † Triangular Rollable and Collapsible

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