LightSail
Flight by light for CubeSats
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LightSail-1 has a launch date! The Planetary Society's solar sailing spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard the SpaceX Falcon Heavy in April 2016.
Replay the live announcement
Read the press release
Read the story
Josh Spradling / The Planetary Society
LightSail-1 Mission Trailer
CubeSats are tiny, low-cost satellites that have opened up new avenues of space research for universities and small organizations.
In order for CubeSat applications to reach the next level, the miniature satellites need a reliable form of propulsion for orbital maneuvers and trips beyond our planet. This is where solar sailing—transferring the momentum of photons to a large reflective sail—comes in. The technology was successfully used by Japan’s IKAROS mission in 2010, and NASA’s NanoSail-D test-deployed a CubeSat solar sail in Earth orbit later that year.
In 2016, The Planetary Society’s LightSail program will take the technology a step further. LightSail-1 will attempt to demonstrate controlled solar sailing—flight by light—for CubeSats.
Project updates
Ground finale? Deployment test moves LightSail 2 closer to handoff
Posted by Jason Davis on 2016/12/06 08:34 CST | 2 comments
LightSail 2 successfully demonstrated all of its critical functions during what may have been the CubeSat's final end-to-end systems test at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
LightSail 2 update roundup: Testing, delivery and a new animation in the works
Posted by Jason Davis on 2016/10/07 06:01 CDT | 4 comments
LightSail 2 and Prox-1 are expected to meet for integration by the end of the year. Here's an update roundup, including a sneak peek of new animations and the abstract from a recently accepted paper on the spacecraft's attitude control system.
Back to school: LightSail 2 and Prox-1 provide unique experience for university students
Posted by Jason Davis on 2016/08/08 06:00 CDT
From Cal Poly to Georgia Tech, university students working on SmallSat projects gain critical real-world spaceflight experience, preparing them for promising careers in the space industry.
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