NASA’s Photo voltaic Sail Mission Efficiently Telephones House
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Could 01, 2024
NASA’s Superior Composite Photo voltaic Sail System has now linked with floor operators following its April 23 launch aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket. The satellite tv for pc is on its technique to testing next-generation photo voltaic sail know-how, which makes use of the facility of daylight to propel a spacecraft. The outcomes from this mission will advance future area journey to broaden our understanding of our Solar and photo voltaic system.
The spacecraft was efficiently delivered to a sort of low Earth orbit referred to as a Solar-synchronous orbit. All programs present that the spacecraft is operational and wholesome. Final night time at 11:30 p.m. PDT (2:30 a.m. EDT), the microwave oven-sized CubeSat handed over the bottom hub situated at Santa Clara College’s Robotics Methods Lab in Santa Clara, California, and the mission staff confirmed profitable two-way communications.
Subsequent, the CubeSat will endure a one- to two-month commissioning section to arrange for the photo voltaic sail deployment and maneuvering check. At the moment, the sail stays throughout the physique of the CubeSat. The mission operations staff will set a date to unfurl the sail in any case commissioning duties have been accomplished. As soon as prepared, the spacecraft will unroll it photo voltaic sail through 4 booms that span the diagonals of the sq. and unspool to succeed in 23 ft (about 7 meters) in size.
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Superior Composite Photo voltaic Sail System
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