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


A 20-meter solar sail system, developed by L'Garde, Inc., of Tustin, Calif., is undergoing testing at NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Tests are being performed in Plum Brook's Space Power Facility -- the world's largest space environment simulation chamber. NASA and L'Garde engineers deployed the 20-meter system in ambient or Earth-like conditions at the company's California laboratory in May 2005. The system includes four sail quadrants supported by an inflatable, thermally rigidized boom system, which inflates and becomes stiff in space environment conditions. Vacuum chamber testing -- to simulate the vacuum and temperature extremes of space -- began in June. The deployment, part of a series of tests ending in July, is a critical milestone in the development of solar sail propulsion technology that could lead to more ambitious inner Solar System robotic exploration. A second company, ATK Space Systems of Goleta, Calif., completed testing of its 20-meter solar sail system at the Plum Brook facility in May. (NASA/MSFC)

+ High-resolution QuickTime (35.8 MB)
+ Low-resolution QuickTime (18.8 MB)

A 20-meter solar sail system, developed by ATK Space Systems of Goleta, Calif., is undergoing testing at NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Tests are being performed in Plum Brook's Space Power Facility -- the world's largest space environment simulation chamber. NASA and ATK engineers deployed the 20-meter system in ambient or Earth-like conditions in April 2005. The system includes four sail quadrants supported by a series of coilable booms, which are extended via remote control from a central stowage container about the size of a suitcase. Vacuum chamber testing -- to simulate the vacuum and temperature extremes of space -- began in May. The deployment, part of a series of tests ending in July, is a critical milestone in the development of solar sail propulsion technology that could lead to more ambitious inner Solar System robotic exploration. A second company, L'Garde Inc., of Tustin, Calif., is expected to begin testing of its 20-meter solar sail system at the Plum Brook facility in June. (NASA/MSFC)

+ High-resolution QuickTime (28.5 MB)
+ Low-resolution QuickTime (13.5 MB)

Solar sail propulsion uses the Sun's energy to propel spacecraft through space, much the way wind pushes sailboats across water. The technology requires bouncing a stream of solar energy particles called photons off giant, reflective sails of lightweight material. The continuous pressure of the Sun's light provides sufficient thrust for a spacecraft to travel in space and perform certain maneuvers, such as hovering at a fixed point in space, which would require too much propellant for conventional rocket systems. In this video animation, a solar sail propulsion concept, designed by L'Garde, Inc., of Tustin, Calif., is initiated in flight. L'Garde is a contractor for the In-Space Propulsion Technology Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Deployment of the sail system in space, as illustrated in the animation, includes extension of the technology's inflatable boom system -- the support structure for the sail material -- and the "quadrants" of the solar sail material itself. (NASA) QuickTime animation, 6.0 MB

Solar sail propulsion uses the Sun's energy to propel spacecraft through space, much the way wind pushes sailboats across water. The technology requires bouncing a stream of solar energy particles called photons off giant, reflective sails of lightweight material. The continuous pressure of the Sun's light provides sufficient thrust for a spacecraft to travel in space and perform certain maneuvers, such as hovering at a fixed point in space, which would require too much propellant for conventional rocket systems. In this video animation, a solar sail propulsion concept, designed by ATK Space Systems of Goleta, Calif., is initiated in flight. ATK Space Systems-Goleta is a contractor for the In-Space Propulsion Technology Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Deployment of the sail system, as illustrated in the animation, includes extension of the technology's coilable boom system -- the support structure for the sail material -- and "quadrants" of the solar sail material itself. (NASA) QuickTime animation, 5.7 MB


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