NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Kim Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256.544.0034)
Photo release: 05-121


+ Large (3008 x 1960, 300 ppi)
+ Medium (720 x 469, 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 that began 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)


+ Large (3008 x 1960, 300 ppi)
+ Medium (720 x 469, 72 ppi)
+ Small (100 x 75, 72 ppi)

A 20-meter solar sail and boom system, developed by L'Garde Inc. of Tustin, Calif., is fully deployed during testing at NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Red and 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, which measures 100-feet in diameter and 122-feet high. 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 that began 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