NASA is currently testing a sail system that uses solar energy to propel spacecraft through space. The world’s most advanced solar sail spacecraft began its journey on April 24, taking off on Rocket Lab’s Electron booster from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand as part of the Beginning Of The Swarm mission. This is an important advancement, as the NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) is the size of a microwave but can open a thin plastic sail in about 25 minutes, spanning 80 square meters with a 7-meter stretchable pole.
The sail collects solar energy pressure to propel the spacecraft at high speeds, similar to a sailboat. The design made of flexible polymer composite materials, reinforced with carbon fiber, will be specifically tested in this project. Currently located in a sun-synchronous orbit 966 m above Earth, ACS3 will deploy within the next few weeks to demonstrate technology that can power deep space missions without using rocket fuel.
The tensioning poles of the solar sail act like sailboat masts, keeping the sails taut to collect solar energy. The tension poles fold compactly to overcome the challenge of fitting a large-scale sail into a rocket’s cargo compartment. Engineers use a pulling system to open the pole and hold the sail while onboard cameras record the process. The project aims to evaluate a new solar sail design and measure its thrust in low orbit, as well as test the toughness of the composite tension pole.
If successful, NASA plans to scale up the design for interstellar travel. After the initial flight and subsystem testing period, ACS3 will spend multiple weeks testing its ability to raise and lower its orbit