LightSail2 is an experiment to test the feasibililty of solar sailing. Solar sailing entails capturing the pressure from the photons in the sun’s rays for propulsion. It uses large reflective sheets that work like wind sails. LightSail2 has now been in orbit for one month. It has raised the apogee (high point) of its orbit by 7 km. Scientists have confirmed that the reason for this is that the solar sails are working. The perigee (low point) of its orbit has declined by 9 km. This is normal because LightSail2 is in low earth orbit and so experiences some atmospheric drag at this altitude.
LightSail 2 is the first spacecraft to use solar sailing for propulsion in Earth orbit. It’s also the first small spacecraft to show how solar sailing works. Only one other spacecraft has used solar sailing; Japan’s IKAROS in 2010. LightSail 2 is a fully crowdfunded spacecraft, and is the first such project to successfully demonstrate a new form of propulsion.
“For The Planetary Society, this moment has been decades in the making,” said Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye. “Carl Sagan talked about solar sailing when I was in his class in 1977. But the idea goes back at least to 1607, when Johannes Kepler noticed that comet tails must be created by energy from the Sun. The LightSail 2 mission is a game-changer for spaceflight and advancing space exploration.”
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There is always more to learn if we dare to know.
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