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Cosmos 1 Solar Sail Update

For Immediate Release
June 21, 2005

Contact
Mat Kaplan
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1-626-793-5100

On June 21, 2005, Cosmos 1, a project of The Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios, was launched by a Russian submarine from the Barents Sea. Cosmos 1 is the first solar sail spacecraft and is designed to sail on light, using photons for propulsion in Earth orbit.

The following is a statement regarding the status of the mission at 3:00 PM PDT:

The Cosmos 1 spacecraft was launched today but we cannot, at this time, confirm a successful orbit injection. Some launch vehicle and spacecraft telemetry data gave ambiguous information during the launch. Since the orbit insertion burn, no signal has been received from the spacecraft. There are continuing efforts to receive a signal from the spacecraft.

The Planetary Society will continue to post updates on its website at http://planetary.org as information on the status of the spacecraft becomes available.

About The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society is the world's largest and most influential space interest organization. Founded in 1980 by astronomer Carl Sagan with Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit is led today by CEO Jenn Vaughn and championed by Chief Ambassador Bill Nye. Members and donors fund programs in science and technology, public outreach, and advocacy. This work advances the exploration of space, the search for life beyond Earth, and the defense of our planet from dangerous asteroids and comets. Learn more at planetary.org.

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