Sunjammer Project Aims to Set Sail in Space

Feb-07-13 If the Sunjammer Project is successful, astronauts may one day be traveling on the winds of space.

Named in honor of the story by Arthur C. Clarke, the mission is intended to test the practicality of using solar sails, and features the largest solar sail yet built. Solar sails propel their crafts by radiation pressure from the sun, which would increase the range of space craft currently limited by their need for consumable fuel. An extremely large solar sail is required to take advantage of the radiation pressure, though, and acceleration is slow yet constant.

The new sail from NASA is about the size of a third of an acre yet weighs only 70 pounds. At only 5 microns thick, it can fold up to the size of a dishwasher—making it easy to transport. The sail is designed to unfurl itself in space, allowing researches to test stability and accuracy of controls.

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[GIZMAG.COM]
[NASA]

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