Jason Davis • Jun 19, 2019
Here's Our First Look at LightSail 2 Installed on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket
Behold: Our first picture of The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft, all buttoned up and ready for its ride to orbit!
![Prox-1 installed on Falcon Heavy](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x800_crop_center-center_82_line/117678/20190619_prox-1-lightsail-on-fh.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x512_crop_center-center_60_line/117678/20190619_prox-1-lightsail-on-fh.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x384_crop_center-center_60_line/117678/20190619_prox-1-lightsail-on-fh.jpg 576w)
![Prox-1 installed on Falcon Heavy (labeled)](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x800_crop_center-center_82_line/117691/20190619_prox-1-lightsail-on-fh3.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x512_crop_center-center_60_line/117691/20190619_prox-1-lightsail-on-fh3.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x384_crop_center-center_60_line/117691/20190619_prox-1-lightsail-on-fh3.jpg 576w)
The golden suitcase-sized box you're looking at here is Prox-1, snugly attached to the stack of spacecraft that will sit atop SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket for launch. Sticking out the top of Prox-1 is the front door of a spring-loaded canister called a P-POD. LightSail 2 is inside the P-POD. A week after the Falcon Heavy deposits Prox-1 into space, the P-POD's front door will open, releasing LightSail 2.
LightSail, a Planetary Society solar sail spacecraft
LightSail is a citizen-funded project from The Planetary Society to send a small spacecraft, propelled solely by sunlight, to Earth orbit.
For context, here are two pictures from when LightSail 2 was integrated with Prox-1 last year. Here's the P-POD, with a red zip tie still attached as a failsafe in case the door popped open during transport:
![LightSail 2 enclosed within P-POD](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_2400x1600_crop_center-center_82_line/20180319_ls2-integration3.jpg 2400w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x800_crop_center-center_82_line/20180319_ls2-integration3.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x512_crop_center-center_60_line/20180319_ls2-integration3.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x384_crop_center-center_60_line/20180319_ls2-integration3.jpg 576w)
And here's a picture from just before LightSail 2 was installed. Notice the long spring inside the P-POD:
![LightSail 2 and P-POD before integration](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_2400x1600_crop_center-center_82_line/20180319_ls2-integration1.jpg 2400w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x800_crop_center-center_82_line/20180319_ls2-integration1.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x512_crop_center-center_60_line/20180319_ls2-integration1.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x384_crop_center-center_60_line/20180319_ls2-integration1.jpg 576w)
Yesterday, SpaceX and the Air Force released a wide shot of the entire payload stack. The stack contains 24 spacecraft that are riding to orbit as part of the U.S. Air Force's STP-2 mission. In this image, you can't see Prox-1; it's on the back of the payload stack:
![STP-2 payload stack](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x1113_crop_center-center_60_line/20190619_stp-2-payload.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x835_crop_center-center_60_line/20190619_stp-2-payload.jpg 576w)
Launch of the Falcon Heavy and LightSail 2 is currently scheduled for no earlier than 24 June 2019, pending the outcome of today's static fire test. For more, see our LightSail 2 mission page and What to Expect When LightSail 2 Launches into Space article.
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