Tag: LightSail
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Planetary Society hails ‘mission success’ after LightSail 2 solar sail raises its orbit
This image was taken during the LightSail 2 sail deployment sequence on July 23. Baja California and Mexico are visible in the background. This image has been de-distorted and color corrected. (Planetary Society Photo / CC BY-NC 3.0) It may be “mission accomplished” for the Planetary Society’s solar sail experiment, but its privately funded LightSail…
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LightSail 2 unfurls in orbit, marking the climax of solar sail experiment
An artist’s conception shows LightSail 2’s four triangular solar sails fully deployed in orbit. (Planetary Society Illustration / Josh Spradling) The nonprofit Planetary Society says its LightSail 2 experiment spread out its solar sails today, nearly a month after it took a piggyback ride to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Following through on…
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SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket puts a solar sail and scads of other experiments in orbit
Launch pad video shows the Falcon Heavy liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (SpaceX via YouTube) SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket had its first night launch tonight, sending 24 different spacecraft toward three different types of orbit to test a wide range of technologies. The triple-barreled rocket rose into the sky from Launch Complex 39A at…
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LightSail hailed as precursor for low-cost planetary missions
A camera aboard LightSail took this picture of the deployed solar sail. Credit: The Planetary Society Managers in charge of the privately-funded LightSail solar sail in Earth orbit said Wednesday the success of the experiment is a step toward opening up the solar system to scores of modest science probes that could explore space at…
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Satellite comes back to life, deploys solar sail on second try
Artist’s concept of LightSail backdropped by the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: The Planetary Society Mission managers say the shoebox-sized LightSail satellite powered up its tiny deployment motor Sunday, and data from the diminutive spacecraft indicate its experimental solar sail unfurled in orbit hundreds of miles above Earth. The deployment sequence began at 3:47 p.m. EDT…
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Ground team battling on-and-off communications with LightSail
LightSail’s solar sail undergoes a deployment test on the ground in September 2014. Credit: Justin Foley/The Planetary Society After an up-and-down week of intermittent contact with the LightSail satellite, the tiny spacecraft radioed home Saturday, giving engineers hope to deploy the experiment’s solar sail as soon as Sunday. The deployment window opens at approximately 2:02…
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LightSail deployment set for this week
Updated June 2. Artist’s concept of the LightSail spacecraft after deployment of the solar sail. Credit: The Planetary Society The Planetary Society’s LightSail spacecraft is back in contact with ground controllers after nine days of radio silence triggered by a suspected software glitch, and engineers plan to send the command to unfurl the tiny satellite’s…
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Have you tried restarting? Bill Nye’s LightSail needs a reboot due to software glitch
An artist rendition of what the LightSail will look like if it can be deployed Update, Saturday evening: LightSail spacecraft reboots in orbit: ‘It’s alive!’ says Bill Nye A glitch with a spreadsheet file has caused Bill Nye’s LightSail satellite to stop responding. With no communication, the Planetary Society may have to wait for a cosmic…
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Video: Fourth X-37B launch highlights
This is the launch highlights reel from United Launch Alliance of the Atlas 5 rocket carrying the fourth mission of the Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane. See our earlier launch coverage.
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Photos: Pad cameras capture Atlas 5 launch
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane lifts off at 11:05 a.m. EDT from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now See our earlier launch coverage.