NanoSail-D2

NanoSail-D2
Mission typeTechnology
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID2010-070L
SATCAT no.37361
Mission duration240 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type3U CubeSat
ManufacturerNASA Ames Research Center
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Launch mass4 kg (8.8 lb)
Dimensions30 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm (11.8 in × 3.9 in × 3.9 in)
PowerBatteries
Start of mission
Launch date20 November 2010, 01:25 UTC
RocketMinotaur IV / HAPS
Launch siteKodiak Launch Complex, Pad 1
ContractorOrbital Sciences
Deployed fromFASTSAT
Deployment dateCommanded: 3 December 2010
Occurred: 17 January 2011
End of mission
Decay date17 September 2011 [1]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[2]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude615 km (382 mi)
Apogee altitude648 km (403 mi)
Inclination71.97°
Period97.34 minutes

NanoSail-D2 was a small satellite built by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Ames Research Center to study the deployment of a solar sail in space. It was a three-unit CubeSat, measuring 30 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm (11.8 in × 3.9 in × 3.9 in) with a mass of 4 kg (8.8 lb).[3] Its solar sail had an area of 10 m2 (110 sq ft),[3] and was deployed in around five seconds.

It was planned to be deployed from the FASTSAT satellite around 3 December 2010, two weeks after launch. The satellite did not eject at that time, but on 17 January 2011, it ejected on its own and deployed its sail three days later on 20 January 2011. The beacon signal began transmitting after ejection and was first received on the afternoon of 19 January 2011.

  1. ^ "NASA's Nanosail-D 'Sails' Home -- Mission Complete". Archived from the original on 1 December 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Report. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b "NanoSail D". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2010.