NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Kim Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256.544.0034)

Dolores Beasley
NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202.358.1753)

Sally Harrington
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
(Phone: 216.433.2037)
News release: 05-039


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A four quadrant, 20-meter solar sail system is fully deployed during testing at NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The series of tests in the Space Power Facility -- the world's largest space environment simulation chamber -- is a critical milestone in the development of the unique propulsion technology that could lead to more ambitious inner Solar System robotic exploration. (NASA)

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A single-quadrant, 10-meter solar sail system sits fully deployed in a 50-foot-diameter vacuum chamber at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. NASA's solar sail propulsion team at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and its industry partner, ATK Space Systems of Goleta, Calif., successfully deployed the sail at the Langley facility over a five-week period from April to May 2004. Data from the test series was used to improve the engineering firm's solar sail designs, prior to tests on the 20-meter solar sail in April 2005. Solar sail propulsion uses the Sun's energy to propel spacecraft through space. This technology requires no onboard propellant, resulting in significantly reduced payload size and weight. ATK Space Systems-Goleta's work is funded by the In-Space Propulsion Technology Office at the Marshall Center. (NASA/Able Engineering)


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A four-quadrant, 10-square-meter solar sail system sits fully deployed in a 100-foot-diameter vacuum chamber at NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. NASA's solar sail propulsion team at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and its industry partner, L'Garde, Inc., of Tustin, Calif., successfully deployed the sail at Plum Brook in July 2004. During testing, the sail was exposed to temperatures of minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit to simulate space conditions. Data from the test series was used to improve L'Garde's solar sail designs, prior to the start of tests on the 20-meter solar sail in June 2005. Solar sail propulsion uses the Sun's energy to propel spacecraft through space. This technology requires no onboard propellant, resulting in significantly reduced payload size and weight. L'Garde's work is funded by the In-Space Propulsion Technology Office at the Marshall Center. (NASA/L'Garde, Inc.)


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In an artist's rendition, a four-quadrant solar sail propulsion system, complete with payload, hovers at a fixed point in space in Earth orbit. Sunlight reflected off the sail provides the necessary thrust to maintain the spacecraft's orbit. The giant mirror-like sails are made of lightweight, reflective material 40-to-100-times thinner than a single sheet of writing paper and measure approximately 100 meters along each side. The stripes imbedded within the sail during fabrication ensure that any rips that may occur during deployment, or as a result of collision with meteoroids, will not spread across the entire sail. Two teams selected by NASA to lead hardware design and development of solar sail system concepts are scheduled to conduct ground demonstrations of their 20-meter subscale designs in April and June 2005. Solar sail propulsion is under development by NASA scientists and their industry partners, led by the In-Space Propulsion Technology Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The In-Space Propulsion Technology Program is implemented by the Marshall Center on behalf of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. (NASA/MSFC)


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In an artist's rendition, a concept design of an interstellar probe driven by a solar sail propulsion system travels through space on its way out of the Solar System. Sunlight pressure provides the necessary thrust to propel the spacecraft toward its destination. Although the thrust supplied by solar sails decreases rapidly with increasing distance from the Sun, solar sails could be used for missions outside the Solar System if a spacecraft passes very closely by the Sun -- gaining the velocity needed to travel these vast distances only during its near-encounter with the Sun. The solar sail, which can vary from 10 to 1,000 meters in diameter depending upon its mission requirements, is supported by a centralized structure and a series of booms extending outward. The scientific payload and spacecraft power and communications systems are housed in this structure. In this concept, the spacecraft attitude, or position in space, is controlled by changing the angle of the smaller steering vanes located at the end of each boom. Two teams selected by NASA to lead hardware development of a solar sail propulsion system are scheduled to conduct ground demonstrations of 20-meter subscale systems in April and June 2005. Solar sail propulsion is under development by NASA scientists and their industry partners, led by the In-Space Propulsion Technology Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The In-Space Propulsion Technology Program is implemented by the Marshall Center on behalf of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. (NASA/MSFC)


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In an artist's rendition, a spacecraft propelled by a solar sail hovers at a fixed point in space known as the Earth-Sun L1 Libration point -- at which the gravitational pull of the Sun and Earth is approximately equal and in opposite directions. The aluminized side of the sail faces the Sun to reflect sunlight. The continuous sunlight pressure provides the necessary thrust to maintain the spacecraft's orbit. Two teams selected by NASA to lead hardware design and development of solar sail system concepts are scheduled to conduct ground demonstrations of their 20-meter subscale designs in April and June 2005. Solar sail propulsion is under development by NASA scientists and their industry partners, led by the In-Space Propulsion Technology Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The In-Space Propulsion Technology Program is implemented by the Marshall Center on behalf of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. (NASA/MSFC)


+ News Release
+ Animation
+ Solar Sail Propulsion Fact Sheet