NASA’s next-generation solar sail technology, known as the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, is set to launch aboard a Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle from New Zealand’s Launch Complex 1 during a 30-day window opening no earlier than April 24. The event showcasing this technology will take place at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia on Tuesday, April 16.
Researchers will be on hand to explain how this technology can enable lower-cost missions to explore the Sun and solar system by utilizing the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, similar to how a sailboat uses wind. A full-scale engineering design unit of the polymer sail and lightweight composite booms will be displayed during the event.
The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is housed within a “12U” sized CubeSat and will deploy after two months of on-orbit systems checks. Funding and management for the mission are provided by NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate, with support from NASA’s Game Changing Development program that developed the deployable composite boom technology. Rocket Lab USA, Inc will provide launch services for the mission.
For more information about the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, visit https://www.nasa.gov/general/nasa-next-generation-solar-sail-boom-technology-ready-for-launch/. For media inquiries, contact Joe Atkinson at 757-755
