NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Dolores Beasley/Erica Hupp
NASA Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202.358.1753)

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

Sally Harrington
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
(Phone: 216.433.2037)

Photo release: 05-157


+ Large (3008 x 1960, 300 ppi)
+ Medium (722 x 470, 72 ppi)
+ Small (100 x 75, 72 ppi)

A 20-meter solar sail and boom system, developed by ATK Space Systems of Goleta, Calif., is fully deployed during testing at NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Blue lights positioned beneath the system help illuminate the four triangular sail quadrants as they lie outstretched in Plum Brook's Space Power Facility -- the world's largest space environment simulation chamber. The sail material is supported by a series of coilable booms, which are extended via remote control from a central stowage container about the size of a suitcase, and is made of an aluminized, plastic-membrane material called CP-1. The material is produced under license by SRS Technologies of Huntsville, Ala. The deployment, part of a series of tests in April, is a critical milestone in the development of solar sail propulsion technology that could lead to more ambitious inner Solar System robotic exploration. (NASA/MSFC)

+ Large (3008 x 1960, 300 ppi)
+ Medium (722 x 470, 72 ppi)
+ Small (100 x 75, 72 ppi)

NASA engineers look at a 20-meter solar sail and boom system, developed by L'Garde Inc. of Tustin, Calif., after it is fully deployed during testing at NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Red and blue lights help illuminate the four triangular sail quadrants as they lie outstretched in Plum Brook's Space Power Facility -- the world's largest space environment simulation chamber. The sail material is supported by a series of inflatable booms that become rigid in the space environment. The system is extended via remote control from a central stowage container about the size of a suitcase. The deployment, part of a series of tests in June, is a critical milestone in the development of solar sail propulsion technology that could lead to more ambitious inner Solar System robotic exploration. (NASA/MSFC)

+ News Release
+ Animations
+ Solar Sail Propulsion Fact Sheet (PDF, 137 Kb)