- NASA has launched the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) spacecraft from New Zealand into orbit, using sunlight as propulsion.
About the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) Project
- The spacecraft is scheduled to circle 1,000 kilometres above Earth and unfurl an 80-square-meter solar sail around 25 minutes after launch.
- It uses sunlight as a renewable propulsion source, which represents a significant improvement in space travel.
- It employs a small CubeSat, similar in size to an oven, that enables propulsion by collecting solar particle energy.
- The initial flying phase lasts two months and includes subsystem checkout and solar sail deployment.
- A sequence of pointing manoeuvres will demonstrate orbit increasing and lowering, proving the effect of solar pressure on the sail.
The Technology Behind Solar Sailing
- Solar sailing, also known as solar sailing propulsion, is a type of spacecraft propulsion that uses the radiation pressure produced by sunlight to push a spacecraft forward.
- Unlike typical rocket propulsion, which generates thrust by expelling mass (such as fuel), solar sailing uses momentum transfer from photons (light particles) generated by the Sun.
- The notion of solar sailing is based on momentum exchange.
- Photons from the Sun strike a big, reflecting sail connected to a spaceship, transferring momentum and causing it to accelerate.
- This acceleration progressively accumulates over time, allowing the spaceship to reach high speeds without the need of onboard fuel.
- Solar sails are primarily made of lightweight, reflective fabrics like Mylar or aluminized Kapton and are deployed in space to collect sunlight.
- The sail is frequently designed as a broad, thin membrane with a big surface area to maximise the quantity of sunlight it can capture.
Solar sailing offers several advantages over traditional propulsion methods, including:
- Solar sailing does not require onboard fuel, making it a highly efficient and environmentally friendly propulsion technique for long-duration missions.
- Continuous thrust: Unlike chemical rockets, which produce short bursts of acceleration, solar sails may deliver continuous propulsion for as long as they are exposed to sunlight.
- Manoeuvrability: Solar sails may alter their trajectory by shifting their orientation in relation to the direction of incoming sunlight. This enables precise navigation and manoeuvring in space.
- Interstellar travel: Solar sailing has the potential to permit interstellar expeditions by gradually accelerating spacecraft to extremely high speeds over time, allowing them to investigate distant star systems.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/smallspacecraft/what-is-acs3/