Largest Solar Sail Ever To Be Launched by NASA in 2014
Sailing on the seas is one thing, but sailing in space is something totally different. NASA is currently preparing, which they are calling the Sunjammer Project and may launch their Solar Sail Demonstration as early as 2014, where they will send the largest solar sail yet built into orbit.
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Sir Arthur C. Clarke came up with the Sunjammer and the concept of "solar sailing' in his 1964 short story, The Sunjammer. The term solar sailing is similar to nautical sailing, the mode being different.
The design for the solar sail needs to be light enough to be pushed by sunlight. The shape of the sail is web-like and it is spun in a way to sustain the shape using the centrifugal force. It measures about 124 feet (38 m) on a side and covers almost an area of 13,000 square feet, weighing only 70 pounds (32 kg).
The Sunjammer technology is suitable for other space missions which include deploying space weather systems or propelling deep space missions, and also being used as a medium to collect space debris.
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Sir Arthur C. Clarke came up with the Sunjammer and the concept of "solar sailing' in his 1964 short story, The Sunjammer. The term solar sailing is similar to nautical sailing, the mode being different.
The design for the solar sail needs to be light enough to be pushed by sunlight. The shape of the sail is web-like and it is spun in a way to sustain the shape using the centrifugal force. It measures about 124 feet (38 m) on a side and covers almost an area of 13,000 square feet, weighing only 70 pounds (32 kg).
The Sunjammer technology is suitable for other space missions which include deploying space weather systems or propelling deep space missions, and also being used as a medium to collect space debris.
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