NASA is preparing to launch an advanced solar sail spacecraft. The project is called the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, and if all goes according to plan, the spacecraft will be in orbit before the end of this month.
Solar sails work on the same principle as terrestrial sails. Light polymer composites are used as the basis for their production. Solar sail ships are powered by solar winds coming from the Sun. In other words, they are plasma flows consisting mainly of protons and electrons. Particles are produced by the Sun at different speeds and densities.
Spaceships powered by solar sails require no fuel and can accelerate indefinitely. The main problem is to design a practical and light spacecraft without bulky materials. To solve this, engineers used polymers and carbon composites.
Rocket Lab's Electron solar sail vehicle is scheduled to launch from the launch facility in Mahia, New Zealand today, April 24, 2024. The spacecraft will enter a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 1,000 km and deploy a canvas with an area of 80 square meters. The maximum length of an “arrow” will reach 7 meters. Once deployed, the sail will adjust the ship's heading, changing its angle to the solar wind.
If the experiment is deemed successful, NASA will begin work on a more ambitious project involving the development of a craft with sails of up to 2,000 square meters for long-distance space travel.