NASA successfully deploys experimental solar sail in orbit

The American experimental spacecraft Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) went into earth orbit on April 24 this year, and now mission operators have confirmed that it was able to successfully deploy a solar sail in space, NASA reported.

Image source: nasa.gov

Last Thursday, August 29, at 13:33 US East Coast time (20:33 Moscow time), engineers received data that the test of the solar sail deployment system was successful. It works similarly to the sails on Earth’s watercraft, only it requires sunlight to operate. Photons are massless particles, but when they collide with an object, they can transfer momentum to it – the principle of operation of a solar sail is based on this effect. The spacecraft on which it is deployed is equipped with four cameras capable of taking panoramic images of both the reflective sail and the composite masts on which it is mounted. The first high-resolution images are expected to be published on September 4.

Testing of the ACS3 will take place over the coming weeks as engineers monitor the sail’s maneuverability in space. By adjusting the orbit, they will obtain data that can be used in the design and operation of future solar sail missions. ACS3 is currently in orbit approximately twice as high as the ISS. If you look at it from above, it looks like a square almost half the size of a tennis court – about 80 m².