solar sails
LightSail 2 is Sending Home New Pictures of Earth
LightSail 2, the brainchild of The Planetary Society, has gifted us two new gorgeous images of Earth. The small spacecraft…
LightSail 2 Mission is Going Strong and Sending Mission Info Home!
The Planetary Society recently launched its LightSail 2 technology demonstrator, which could prove to be an effective means of propulsion…
Weekly Space Hangout – June 12, 2015: Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program
Host: Fraser Cain (@fcain) Special Guest: This week we welcome Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program Participants: Michael Prokosch (Seeing…
The Planetary Society’s Solar Sail Will Hitch a Ride to Space on a Falcon Heavy
In a live webcast, The Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye announced that its long-awaited LightSail solar sail mission will launch…
What Is A Solar Sail?
I’m Fraser Cain, and I’m a sailor. Well, okay, I've got a sailboat that I take out on the water…
See NanoSail-D in Orbit, Win a Prize!
Looking for the orbiting NanoSail-D just got more exciting! NASA and Spaceweather.com have teamed up to offer prizes for the…
It’s Alive! NanoSail-D Suddenly and Spontaneously Comes Back to Life
[/caption] A small solar sail that was thought to be a lost cause has "spontaneously" come back to life. The…
Nanosail-D Update: Things Look Grim
[/caption] We reported the successful ejection of the Nanosail-D nanosatellite from the satellite that it was launched with earlier this…
NASA’s Nanosail-D Released into the Winds of Space
[/caption]Despite being an idea rattling around inside the head of engineers and space enthusiasts for over 40 years, solar sails…
Fleet of Solar Sail Spacecraft Envisioned for Future Data Gathering Missions
[/caption] Future missions to explore the outer planets could employ fleets of ‘data-clippers’, maneuverable spacecraft equipped with solar sails, to…