The NASA In-Space Propulsion Technologies (ISPT) Program is heading an effort to develop the capability of solar sails to perform a variety of new space observation and exploration missions. Solar sails can potentially provide low-cost propulsion and operate without the use of propellant, allowing access to non-Keplerian orbits through constant thrust. Solar sails consist of a gossamer structure, a membrane-based, large, lightweight structure. The primary objective of the sail is to convert solar pressure into thrust on a spacecraft. This solar pressure is extremely small, on the order of nine Newtons per square kilometer at one AU. Therefore, the fundamental challenge in solar sail design is to create a sail area of significant size, with small enough system mass to achieve reasonable accelerations of the spacecraft.
Similarity Rules for Scaling Solar Sail Systems
2004
14 pages
Report
No indication
English
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