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NASA launches solar sail mission into space using advanced composite system; Here's all you need to know
NASA's new composite solar sail was launched into orbit by Rocket Lab, where it will spend weeks being tested while utilizing solar radiation to move around the solar system.
On Wednesday, April 24, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched a space mission. At 3:30 am IST, Rocket Lab's Electron rocket powered by sunlight is used to propel NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft, which was launched from New Zealand.
The location of this solar-powered spacecraft is 1,000 kilometers above Earth. According to a NASA release, the spacecraft will be around 80 square meters in size when it is deployed, which will happen 25 minutes after liftoff. According to the US Space Agency, the mission's initial phase will take a few months, following which the solar sail will commence.
Rocket Lab launches NASA's solar sail technology into orbit
NASA announced the launch in a post on X writing, "NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is targeting an April 23 launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand. The rocket will deploy the mission’s CubeSat above Earth to test the performance of the system."
The spacecraft's engine, an oven-sized CubeSat, will drive the craft when solar particles are directed toward the solar sail. The mission crew will show the orbit raising and lowering of the CubeSat utilizing sunlight through a series of pointing adjustments in the weeks following launch. If the solar-powered spacecraft's orientation is perfected, it will be seen like Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.
According to NASA, the microwave oven-sized CubeSat will deploy its reflecting solar sail following a hectic initial flying phase that will continue for nearly two months and includes subsystems checkout. The test, which lasts for several weeks, consists of a sequence of pointing movements that show orbit increasing and lowering with just the pressure of sunlight acting on the sail.
How important is the mission
The mission is critical because its accomplishment will lessen the need for large propulsion systems. Longer-duration, less expensive missions will thus be possible thanks to solar sail technology. Alan Rhodes, chief systems engineer for the project at NASA's Ames Research Center, said, "We have an endless source of propulsion because the Sun will continue to burn for billions of years." Larger sails that use "fuel" that is already accessible can be launched in place of gigantic fuel tanks for upcoming missions."
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