 LightSail 2 after a boom deployment test | |
| Names | LightSail A LightSail 2[1] |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Technology demonstration |
| Operator | The Planetary Society |
| COSPAR ID | 2019-036AC |
| SATCAT no. | 44420 |
| Website | sail |
| Mission duration | LightSail 1 Final: 25 days LightSail 2 Final: 3 years, 4 months and 23 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Solar sail |
| Bus | 3U CubeSat |
| Manufacturer | Stellar Exploration, Inc., Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo |
| Dimensions | Core: 30 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm (11.8 in × 3.9 in × 3.9 in) Sail: 32 m2 (340 sq ft) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | LightSail 1: 20 May 2015 LightSail 2: 25 June 2019[2] |
| Rocket | LightSail 1: Atlas V LightSail 2: Falcon Heavy |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | LightSail 1: 14 June 2015[3] LightSail 2: 17 November 2022[4] |
LightSail is a project to demonstrate controlled solar sailing within low Earth orbit using a CubeSat. The project was developed by The Planetary Society, a global non-profit organization devoted to space exploration.[5] It consists of two spacecraft — LightSail 1 and LightSail 2. LightSail 1 was an engineering demonstration mission designed to test its new sail deployment method in space, it did not perform solar sailing. LightSail 2 was a fully functional spacecraft intended to demonstrate true solar sailing[6] and incorporated the lessons learned from LightSail 1. LightSail is a follow-on project to Cosmos 1 — a solar-sail spacecraft designed by The Planetary Society in the early 2000s, which was destroyed during a launch failure in 2005.
Both LightSail spacecraft measured 30 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm (11.8 in × 3.9 in × 3.9 in) (3U CubeSat) in their stowed configuration. After sail deployment, the total area of each spacecraft was 32 m2 (340 sq ft).[7]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Name changewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Spacecraft Powered by 'Light Sails' Set to Launch Aboard SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Aristos Georgiou, Newsweek 14 May 2019
- ^ Davis, Jason. "LightSail Test Mission Ends with Fiery Reentry". planetary.org. The Planetary Society. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
planetary-20221117was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Davis, Jason (3 March 2017). "Signed, sealed but not delivered: LightSail 2 awaits ship date". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- ^ Stirone, Shannon (23 July 2019). "LightSail 2 Unfurls, Next Step Toward Space Travel by Solar Sail – The Planetary Society deployed LightSail 2, aiming to further demonstrate the potential of the technology for space propulsion". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- ^ "LightSail". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 29 March 2017.