NASA's: Building A Solar Sail To Propel Space Exploration

Space.com

Video shows NASA's futuristic solar sail technology prototype. Like a sail on the ocean propels a boat with the wind, this space sail is meant to propel payloads by harnessing the pressure of sunlight.  Credit: NASA Ames Research Center

Transcript

00:00A NASA mission is testing revolutionary technology to allow robotic spacecraft to sail on sunlight.

00:08The advanced composite solar sail system introduces a new way to explore the cosmos.

00:15Much like a sailboat is propelled by wind, a solar sail spacecraft is pushed by light from the sun.

00:23Sunlight is composed of particles called photons.

00:26As these particles bounce off the reflective sail, the spacecraft accelerates.

00:32This eliminates the need for rocket propellant and makes it possible for spacecraft to travel indefinitely.

00:40The sail is stored inside a spacecraft about the size of the microwave oven.

00:46Lightweight carbon fiber booms unroll from the spacecraft to form rigid tubes that support the ultra-thin reflective polymer sail.

00:56When fully deployed, the sail forms a square that is 33 by 33 feet, or about half the size of a tennis court.

01:05Altitude and position are changed by angling the sail toward or away from the sun.

01:12Results from the mission will guide the design of next-generation solar sail spacecraft to explore and conduct science across the solar system.

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