LightSail 2 deploys its sail and enters solar surfing mode

After launching into orbit aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket last month, The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 satellite has now entered the most critical phase of its mission. The spacecraft has successfully unfurled its solar sail and begun surfing through space on the power of the Sun, a milestone moment for a technology with interstellar potential.

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Tau.Neutrino said:

LightSail 2 deploys its sail and enters solar surfing mode

After launching into orbit aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket last month, The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 satellite has now entered the most critical phase of its mission. The spacecraft has successfully unfurled its solar sail and begun surfing through space on the power of the Sun, a milestone moment for a technology with interstellar potential.

more…

After IKAROS, one would hope that a test would be done to accelerate a craft out of the solar system as a “proof of concept”. Seems this Light Sail 2 doesn’t advance the case much.

Wasn’t there a few physicists who doubted that a light sail would even work?

Vague memories of reading that somewhere.

sibeen said:

Wasn’t there a few physicists who doubted that a light sail would even work?

Vague memories of reading that somewhere.

Yes but that was quite a while back…

dv said:

sibeen said:

Wasn’t there a few physicists who doubted that a light sail would even work?

Vague memories of reading that somewhere.

Yes but that was quite a while back…

So it turns out they were mistaken?

sibeen said:

Wasn’t there a few physicists who doubted that a light sail would even work?

Vague memories of reading that somewhere.

The Solar Sail Project (Cosmos 1) was the last project launched by
Carl Sagan & his wife Ann Druyan together with The Planetary Society,

Cosmos 1 failed when the vast sail, composed of delicate light weight mylar
material, stuck to itself in places, causing the sail to fail to fully deploy .

Ogmog said:

sibeen said:

Wasn’t there a few physicists who doubted that a light sail would even work?

Vague memories of reading that somewhere.

The Solar Sail Project (Cosmos 1) was the last project launched by
Carl Sagan & his wife Ann Druyan together with The Planetary Society,

Cosmos 1 failed when the vast sail, composed of delicate light weight mylar
material, stuck to itself in places, causing the sail to fail to fully deploy .

Thanks, I’d missed that. Sort of like “vacuum welding”. Air acts as a fluid lubricant when unfolding things. Take the air away and it tends to stick together. That’s one reason why it’s necessary to try these things out ih a vacuum on Earth.