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ProjectsLightSail - The Future of Solar Sailing
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Do More“We are going to merge the ultra-light technology of nanosats with the ultra-large technology of solar sails in an audacious new program-- setting a course to the stars” It's the biggest project in our history. Our solar sail is back! The Planetary Society is building a spacecraft that will sail on sunlight alone by the end of 2010. The new solar sail project, boosted by a one-million-dollar anonymous donation, is the beginning of an innovative program that will launch three separate spacecraft over the course of several years. Our program -- called LightSail -- begins with our LightSail-1 mission, which will demonstrate that sunlight can propel a spacecraft in Earth orbit. LightSail 2 and 3, more ambitious still, will reach farther into space. LightSail-1 is a global project that EVERYONE can be a part of! You can help create and launch a spacecraft designed to blaze a path to the stars. Sailing on light pressure (from lasers rather than sunlight) is the only known technology that might carry out practical interstellar flight, helping pave our way to the stars. And, with our new LightSail project, we're also addressing the eminently practical, such as:
After our first solar sail, Cosmos 1, was lost, we asked our members, "Should we try again?" We heard a resounding, "Yes! Go for it!" So we kept investigating all the possibilities, and now, thanks to your continued support -- including the million dollar donation – we've assembled a great mission team of top engineers and scientists, and we're moving ahead. You can join the LightSail mission team today!We’re taking solar sailing to the next level…Now we need your help to launch LightSail. A generous Planetary Society Member has given us $1 million dollars, BUT he is challenging us to raise the rest and be ready for launch by the end of next year. We already have three-quarters of the funding we need for LightSail-1. Join our team and help us reach our goal.
What is Solar Sailing? Photons have no mass but lots of energy, so a solar sail space probe requires no onboard fuel. The force acts continuously, meaning a solar sail can eventually reach speeds five to ten times greater than any chemical rocket. Russia, the U.S. and the European Space Agency all started solar sail missions and technology programs but cut them back when money got tight. Japan, we are happy to say, is now moving ahead to develop an innovative solar sail and solar-powered ion drive hybrid. Yet solar sail propulsion remains largely neglected. That's why the Society has long championed efforts to prove its value. We partnered with Cosmos Studios on the far-sighted Cosmos 1 solar sail project. But technology has advanced enormously since then. We can do more in a fraction of the size, with a fraction of the weight and at a fraction of the cost. This has led us to re-think everything…and what we've arrived at is far more advanced, and ultimately far more valuable. This technology also opens up many new possibilities for piggyback launching into Earth orbit, which is desperately needed since launch vehicles have been a hindrance preventing solar sail flight. We're considering several launch possibilities and will select the most reliable one that matches our schedule and final orbit choice best. Get LightSail Updates!
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