Solar Powered Sail Orbiting Earth
Solar Sailing in Space - LightSail 2 Source: LightSail 2 Promising New Solar Innovation for Space Travel This green energy technology has the potential to be disruptive innovation. It's a solar powered sail invented through the non-profit Planetary Society in California, led by the Science Guy Bill Nye. The LightSail 2 CubeSat spacecraft successfully deployed its solar sail to get propulsion in space a few days ago. It's the first spacecraft to be propelled by sunlight alone. This is very important science because the use of solar sails to convert solar wind into thrust could save fuel for spacecrafts on long space missions. Solar Sailing The small spacecraft is the size of a toaster. It was hurled into space aboard a Space X Falcon Heavy rocket in late June. A few days ago, flight controllers on the ground in California fully deployed the solar sail from the CubeSat into space. The sail is the size of a boxing ring and the system is...