{"id":16281,"date":"2015-06-07T22:02:53","date_gmt":"2015-06-07T14:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/satellite-comes-back-to-life-deploys-solar-sail-on-second-try\/"},"modified":"2015-06-07T22:02:53","modified_gmt":"2015-06-07T14:02:53","slug":"satellite-comes-back-to-life-deploys-solar-sail-on-second-try","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/satellite-comes-back-to-life-deploys-solar-sail-on-second-try\/","title":{"rendered":"Satellite comes back to life, deploys solar sail on second try"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Artist's
Artist\u2019s concept of LightSail backdropped by the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: The Planetary Society<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The deployment sequence began at 3:47 p.m. EDT (1947 GMT) off the west coast of Baja California, when LightSail was in radio contact with a ground station in San Luis Obispo, California.<\/p>\n

\u201cTelemetry received on the ground showed motor counts climbing to the halfway point before LightSail traveled out of range,\u201d wrote Jason Davis, a blogger who has provided daily updates since LightSail\u2019s launch for the Planetary Society, which manages the mission. \u201cPower levels were consistent with ground-based deployment tests, and the spacecraft\u2019s cameras were on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mission manager David Spencer said all indications are the sail deployment was proceeding as planned before LightSail flew over the horizon at the San Luis Obispo tracking site, according to Davis.<\/p>\n

The deployment milestone marks the end of a nearly 19-day saga since LightSail\u2019s successful launch May 20.<\/p>\n

The Planetary Society, an advocacy group co-founded by legendary celebrity-astronomer Carl Sagan, led the development of LightSail with funding from private donors. NASA paid for the spacecraft\u2019s launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket.<\/p>\n

Sagan dreamed of a light-powered spaceship that could travel vast distances through space propelled by photons, the tiny particles that make up beams of light. If a spacecraft could harness light for propulsion, it could accelerate to great speeds without the need for conventional chemical rockets.<\/p>\n

The Japanese space agency and NASA have flown solar sails in space before, and the Planetary Society aims to continue experimenting with the technology. Engineers built the LightSail craft currently in orbit to demonstrate the sail design before a more ambitious test in a higher orbit next year.<\/p>\n

Since its launch, satellite fell silent twice, leaving engineers worrying the spacecraft was dead before they could even attempt the sail deployment. Officials blamed the problems on a software glitch and an issue with charging the spacecraft\u2019s batteries.<\/p>\n

LightSail radioed home Saturday, and ground controllers scrambled to beam up commands to unwind the booms holding the satellite\u2019s four triangular Mylar sails at the earliest opportunity Sunday.<\/p>\n

Before LightSail\u2019s launch, the flight plan called for the solar sail to deploy 28 days after liftoff. But with the spacecraft seemingly in precarious health, officials opted to unfurl the sail early.<\/p>\n

The first try Sunday did not work, but engineers sent commands to activate LightSail\u2019s deployment motor when it flew over California again about 90 minutes later, and telemetry showed the motor was moving before the satellite flew out of range.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t get signals to and from our LightSail on the first orbital pass, so we tried again on our next orbit \u2014 and it worked! We\u2019ve learned a lot about perseverance on this test mission,\u201d said Bill Nye, the Planetary Society\u2019s CEO. \u201cAlthough it\u2019s in inertial space, LightSail has had me on a rollercoaster. I want to thank the engineering team; they\u2019ve done fantastic work. I especially want to thank our supporters and members, who made this success possible. We are advancing space science and exploration. This mission is part of our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n