NASA’s Epic Experiment: Solar Sail System Readies Sail Deployment

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in orbit as the Sun crests Earth’s horizon. Credit: NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart

NASA is readying to deploy a solar sail on its CubeSat, which will test using sunlight for propulsion.

The mission, launched from New Zealand, involves new materials for better efficiency.

NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System

Commissioning is nearly complete for NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, and mission operators are charting a course for their next milestone – hoisting the sails using new composite booms.

The sail will unfurl from the spacecraft’s 12-unit (12U) CubeSat body using composite booms made from new materials that are stiffer and lighter than previous designs. Once successful boom and sail deployment are achieved, the team hopes to prove the sail’s propulsion capabilities and maneuverability by raising and lowering the satellite’s orbit. Solar sails use the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, as photons bouncing off a reflective sail push a spacecraft. Like a sailboat turning to capture the wind, the spacecraft can adjust its orbit by angling the sail.

This artist’s concept shows the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft sailing in space using the energy of the Sun. Credit: NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart

Launch and Initial Tests

After launching in April aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from New Zealand, the mission completed a series of tests and preparations, including testing two-way communications and deploying solar panels – a battery-charging mechanism, not to be confused with the not-yet deployed solar sail.

The project team expects to deploy the sail in the next few weeks. Given its position in orbit, about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) above Earth, and the reflectivity of the large sail, about 860 square feet (80 square meters), mission managers say the Solar Sail System should be easily visible at times in the night sky once the sail is fully deployed.

Collaborative Efforts in Spacecraft Development

NASA Ames manages the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System project and designed and built the onboard camera diagnostic system. NASA Langley designed and built the deployable composite booms and solar sail system. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program office based at NASA Ames and led by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), funds and manages the mission. NASA STMD’s Game Changing Development program developed the deployable composite boom technology. Rocket Lab USA, Inc. of Long Beach, California provided launch services. AST&Defense LLC of College Park, Maryland, designed and built the spacecraft bus.