NASA’s groundbreaking new solar sail finally spread its wings in space

If humans are ever going to become a spacefaring species then we need to figure out a few more efficient ways to traverse the cosmos. That’s why NASA’s latest futuristic solar sail tech should be raising eyebrows.

Solar sails may seem more science fiction than reality, but just four months after a new NASA solar sail project hitched a ride into space, it spread out its sails and proved that the concept could be a viable option for space travel. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center, Public Domain

Obviously, solar sails will not be able to take humans to other planets quite yet, but the technology could be used for a wide variety of missions in space. But how exactly does a sail work in the vacuum of space (a place with no wind)?

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Andrzej Mirecki, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Solar sails aren’t exactly like the sails on a boat here on Earth but the concept is quite similar according to Space.com. Just like how wind can guide a sailboat, solar energy (photons) can be harnessed to help guide vessels through space. 

“It only takes a slight amount of sunlight to guide solar sails through space,” Space.com noted, adding that although “photons don't have mass, they can force momentum when they hit an object,” which is how solar sails can move objects in space. 

On April 24th, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) headed up to space with Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle, and on August 29th, the ACS3 spread its solar sails in space for the first time, and it was captured by cameras fixed to its sails. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Scott Andrews, Public Domain

NASA published the first image from the ACS3’s sail deployment on September 5th, and it was a sight to see—even if its orientation was a bit confusing, something that NASA noted in its press release alongside the image. 

Photo Credit: NASA

“The success so far of this mission is pretty awesome because solar sail technology is an incredibly impressive concept both in practice and in theory,” reported Live Science’s Monisha Ravisetti. But now the real work has begun for NASA's ACS3 team. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By NASA Ames Research Center / NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart

NASA’s new solar sail system will be put to the test over the next few weeks according to Space.com’s Meredith Garofalo, who reported that the maneuverability of the system will be observed so that more can be learned about how to improve the system. 

Photo Credit: NASA/Aero Animation/Ben Schweighart

Raising and lowering the orbit of the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft will provide valuable information that may help guide future concepts of operations and designs for solar sail-equipped science and exploration missions,” NASA noted. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By NASA, Public Domain

The ACS3 spacecraft orbits the Earth at nearly double the altitude of the International Space Station according to NASA, which also pointed out its sails span roughly 860 square feet or about 80 square meters (half the size of a tennis court for reference).

“Now, with the sail fully extended, the Solar Sail System may be visible to some keen skywatchers on Earth who look up at the right time,” a NASA press release noted. So be sure to try and spot the spacecraft the next time you’re gazing up at the stars! It looks like a diamond according to NASA.

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Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls