Light Sail

TARGET GROUP: PROPULSION FOR SMALL SATELLITES

OBJECTIVES

·        To demonstrate that solar sailing is a viable means of propulsion for CubeSats — small, standardized spacecraft that are part of a global effort to lower the cost of space exploration. 

SUMMARY

A solar sail, simply put, is a spacecraft propelled by sunlight. Whereas conventional rockets are propelled by the combustion of rocket fuel, a solar sail is pushed forward by light from the Sun. Light is made of packets of energy called photons. While photons have no mass, they have momentum. Solar sails capture this momentum with sheets of large, reflective material such as Mylar. As photons bounce off the sail, most of their momentum is transferred, speeding up the sail in the direction opposite the bouncing light.

Unlike chemical rockets that provide short, powerful bursts of thrust, solar sails provide continuous, slight thrust and can reach higher speeds over time. Sunlight is free and unlimited, whereas rocket propellant must be carried into orbit and be stored onboard a spacecraft.

Solar sails are also one of the only known methods that could someday be used to travel to the stars. In 2016, the group Breakthrough Initiatives announced an initiative to send a fleet of laser-powered solar sails to our nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

Solar sail uses sunlight alone to change its orbit, and is currently operating under an extended mission to further advance solar sailing TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION.

REFERENCE

https://www.planetary.org/sci-tech/lightsail