{"id":16295,"date":"2015-06-01T18:01:23","date_gmt":"2015-06-01T10:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/lightsail-deployment-set-for-this-week\/"},"modified":"2015-06-01T18:01:23","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T10:01:23","slug":"lightsail-deployment-set-for-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/lightsail-deployment-set-for-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"LightSail deployment set for this week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Updated June 2.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6653\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6653\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6653\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20140709_LightSail1_Space03.jpg\" alt=\"Artist's concept of the LightSail spacecraft after deployment of the solar sail. Credit: The Planetary Society\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20140709_LightSail1_Space03.jpg 620w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/20140709_LightSail1_Space03-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6653\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s concept of the LightSail spacecraft after deployment of the solar sail. Credit: The Planetary Society<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Planetary Society\u2019s 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\u2019s solar sail as soon as Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Officials re-established communications with LightSail on Saturday, when the CubeSat sent a radio beacon to Earth while flying over a ground station at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California.<\/p>\n<p>LightSail fell silent May 22, two days after launching as a piggyback passenger aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket with the U.S. Air Force\u2019s X-37B spaceplane.<\/p>\n<p>The citizen-funded LightSail mission is a technological trailblazer for future spacecraft that will test ways to harness photons \u2014 tiny particles of sunlight \u2014 to push probes through the solar system.<\/p>\n<p>The satellite\u2019s operators suspect LightSail was victim of a software problem that crashed the spacecraft\u2019s computer. Attempts to manually reboot the system failed, so engineers hoped for help from cosmic radiation, which could reset the computer if a charged particle hit the spacecraft in the right place.<\/p>\n<p>Help apparently arrived some time Saturday, according to the Planetary Society, an advocacy group organized to promote space science and exploration of the solar system.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=604792318743298048&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2015%2F06%2F01%2Flightsail-deployment-set-for-this-week%2F&amp;sessionId=8563fef0434c78822ed60ed02724e2095c5afb70&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"604792318743298048\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782704059502902857=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A little nuclei, maybe from a supernova, just travelled hundreds of millions of years to help us out and restart the computer on #LightSail.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Casey Dreier (@CaseyDreier) May 30, 2015<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Engineers have been in contact with LightSail each time it flies over a ground station since Saturday, and the ground team commanded cameras aboard the spacecraft to take a series of test images Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>The first of the images was downloaded to the ground Monday, a key step before managers approve a plan to deploy the craft\u2019s solar sail, an ultra-thin membrane packed inside the shoebox-sized satellite for launch.<\/p>\n<p>The sail will extend in space to cover an area of 344 square feet, about the size of a home\u2019s master bedroom.<\/p>\n<p>Engineers plan to prevent the recurrence of LightSail\u2019s software glitch by rebooting the satellite\u2019s computer once per day. Officials say the satellite shut down after a data file storing LightSail\u2019s radio transmissions grew too large, and daily computer reboots will erase the file\u2019s contents before the problem strikes again.<\/p>\n<p>The earliest opportunity for ground controllers to command deployment of LightSail\u2019s solar sail is Friday, giving engineers time to conduct additional image capture and downlink testing, according to a blog post on the Planetary Society\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<p>Ground controllers plan to order LightSail to open its solar panels Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>When engineers give the order, four metal booms will unwind like tape measures to coax out four triangular Mylar sails, which measure just 4.5 microns thick \u2014 one-fourth the thickness of an average trash bag, the Planetary Society said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6654\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6654\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-6654\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lightsail-table.jpg\" alt=\"Engineers work on the LightSail spacecraft before launch. Credit: The Planetary Society\" width=\"620\" height=\"424\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lightsail-table.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lightsail-table-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lightsail-table-768x525.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/lightsail-table-1024x701.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6654\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Engineers work on the LightSail spacecraft before launch. Credit: The Planetary Society<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Planetary Society launched the 10-pound satellite \u2014 based on the popular CubeSat form factor \u2014 as a pathfinder for a more complex solar sail experiment planned for 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Construction of the spacecraft was funded by private citizens and donors, and NASA paid for LightSail\u2019s ride into orbit on the Atlas 5.<\/p>\n<p>The Planetary Society says the project\u2019s total cost is $5.45 million, including funding for a more ambitious follow-up mission next year. The group launched a Kickstarter page requesting donations from the public to cover $1.2 million of the cost.<\/p>\n<p>Engineers are preparing a similar spacecraft for launch in 2016 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, which will boost the second LightSail platform to a higher orbit for a full-up solar sailing demo.<\/p>\n<p>The LightSail mission launched on the Atlas 5 went into a lower orbit, where atmospheric drag will overcome any propulsive energy generated from sunlight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough this proof-of-concept mission, we will use CubeSats to open new paths beyond Earth and, one day, potentially to other planets with an inexpensive, inexhaustible means of propulsion: photons, solar energy in its purest form,\u201d Planetary Society chief executive Bill Nye wrote on LightSail\u2019s Kickstarter page.<\/p>\n<p>LightSail follows other solar sail projects launched by Japan and NASA.<\/p>\n<p>Japan\u2019s Ikaros spacecraft launched into orbit around the sun in 2010 was the first mission to prove the solar sail concept. A NASA-built CubeSat in low Earth orbit used a similar solar sail in 2011 to expedite its descent back into Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated June 2. Artist\u2019s concept of the LightSail spacecraft after deployment of the solar sail. Credit: The Planetary Society The Planetary Society\u2019s 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\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3321,4031,2573,2575],"class_list":["post-16295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-av-054","tag-lightsail","tag-planetary-society","tag-solar-sail"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16295"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}