NASA's largest solar sail in space

October 5 2011 1

Recently it became known that within the framework of the implementation of the Technology Demonstration program, NASA will solve three main tasks. The content of these tasks will not be scientific experiments or the study of space, but the testing of space technologies, as well as their further improvement. It is planned that space technology will be used in solving further problems.

What tasks will NASA solve during the implementation of Technology Demonstration?

These tasks were selected from a significant number. They will be to develop a laser communication system that will operate at high speeds, conduct a navigation system check, and demonstrate a solar sail, which can be used to fly spacecraft. Tasks must be implemented in 2015, 2016.

During the implementation of one NASA task, it was already necessary to launch a solar sail into space, reaching an area of approximately 10 square meters. However, the new solar sail will be the largest. It is planned that its area will be 38 square meters.

What can be done if you use such a large solar sail? With its help, it will be possible to remove all space debris that will be in earth orbit, therefore all modern orbital spacecraft will be equipped with similar sails. After the life of the spacecraft ends, the solar sail will be deployed and it will have the necessary braking effect. For this, the pressure of sunlight and the molecules of the upper layers of the atmosphere will be provided. As a result, the spacecraft will go to a different orbit, enter the atmosphere, burn.

Space sail can be analogous to the sea anchor. In this case, the position of the devices will not change. Such sail models could be used to ensure that GeoStorm, which allows you to control any flares of the Sun, is at a distance from our planet that is three times the distance that can be achieved at present. The solar wind would influence the cosmic sail. This would lead to the fact that the force of the gravitational field of the Sun, the force would be balanced, and the apparatus could remain in a certain place.

In addition, the solar sail will allow spacecraft to fly.

The task of demonstrating the solar sail consists of testing the technologies on which the control and monitoring of the position of the apparatus depends, stabilizing the position. Responsible for the implementation of the task was assigned the company L'Grade Inc., and the assistants were employees of NASA, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is planned that sail production will end in 3 of the year.