The Best in Science News and Amazing Breakthroughs
Everyone knows that solar energy is free and almost limitless here on Earth. The same is true for spacecraft operating in the inner Solar System. But in space, the Sun can do more than provide electrical energy; it also emits an unending stream of solar wind.
The Red Sea and the Nile River, from the LightSail 2 spacecraft. LightSail 2 was a successful demonstration mission that lasted more than two years. "Booms have tended to be either heavy and metallic or made of lightweight composite with a bulky design – neither of which work well for today's small spacecraft."NASA is about to launch a new solar sail design with a better support structure. Called the, it's stiffer and lighter than previous boom designs. It's made of carbon fibre and flexible polymers.
To change direction, the spacecraft angles its sails. If boom deployment is successful, the ACS3 team hopes to perform some maneuvers with the spacecraft, angling the sails and changing the spacecraft's orbit. The goal is to build larger sails that can generate more thrust. Once it arrives, the spacecraft will unroll its booms and deploy its sail. It'll take about 25 minutes to deploy the sail, with a photon-gathering area of 80 square meters, or about 860 square feet. That's much larger than LightSail 2, which had a sail area of 32 square meters or about 340 square feet.
With unique composite and carbon fibre booms, the ACS3 system has the potential to support sails as large as 2,000 square meters, or about 21,500 square feet. That's about half the area of a soccer field.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Boeing's 1st Starliner astronaut flight test for NASA could launch as soon as May 1Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time.
Read more »
NASA Science, Hardware Aboard SpaceX’s 30th Resupply Launch to StationFollowing a successful launch of NASA’s SpaceX 30th commercial resupply mission, new scientific experiments and technology demonstrations for the agency are
Read more »
NASA, SpaceX ready to launch 30th cargo mission to ISS on March 21Josh Dinner is Space.com's Content Manager. He is a writer and photographer with a passion for science and space exploration, and has been working the space beat since 2016.
Read more »
New NASA astronauts 'thrilled' to see 1st Boeing Starliner crew launch in May (exclusive)Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time.
Read more »
NASA Sets Coverage for Crew Launch; Trio to Join Expedition 70Three crew members will blast off on Thursday, March 21, to support Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station. NASA will provide full coverage of
Read more »
SpaceX to launch 30th cargo mission to the ISS for NASA this weekMichael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
Read more »