Abstract In the early to mid-2000s, NASA made substantial progress in the development of solar sail propulsion systems. Solar sail propulsion uses the solar radiation pressure exerted by the momentum transfer of reflected photons to generate a net force on a spacecraft. To date, solar sail propulsion systems were designed for large robotic spacecraft. Recently, however, NASA has been investigating the application of solar sails for small satellite propulsion. The NanoSail-D is a subscale solar sail system designed for possible small spacecraft applications. The NanoSail-D mission flew on board the ill-fated Falcon Rocket launched August 2, 2008, and due to the failure of that rocket, never achieved orbit. The NanoSail-D flight spare is ready for flight and a suitable launch arrangement is being actively pursued. This paper will present an introduction solar sail propulsion systems and an overview of the NanoSail-D spacecraft.


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    Title :

    NanoSail-D: A solar sail demonstration mission


    Contributors:
    Johnson, Les (author) / Whorton, Mark (author) / Heaton, Andy (author) / Pinson, Robin (author) / Laue, Greg (author) / Adams, Charles (author)

    Published in:

    Acta Astronautica ; 68 , 5-6 ; 571-575


    Publication date :

    2010-02-07


    Size :

    5 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




    NanoSail-D: A Solar Sail Demonstration Mission

    Johnson, Les / Whorton, Mark / Heaton, Andy et al. | NTRS | 2009




    NanoSail-D

    Montgomery, Edward E., IV / Adams, Charles L. | NTRS | 2008