LightSail

LightSail
LightSail 2 after a boom deployment test at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
LightSail 2 after a boom deployment test
NamesLightSail A
LightSail 2[1]
Mission typeTechnology demonstration
OperatorThe Planetary Society
COSPAR ID2019-036AC
SATCAT no.44420
Websitesail.planetary.org
Mission durationLightSail 1 Final: 25 days
LightSail 2 Final: 3 years, 4 months and 23 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeSolar sail
Bus3U CubeSat
ManufacturerStellar Exploration, Inc.,
Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation,
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
DimensionsCore: 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 dateLightSail 1: 20 May 2015
LightSail 2: 25 June 2019[2]
RocketLightSail 1: Atlas V
LightSail 2: Falcon Heavy
End of mission
Decay dateLightSail 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]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Name change was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Spacecraft Powered by 'Light Sails' Set to Launch Aboard SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket Aristos Georgiou, Newsweek 14 May 2019
  3. ^ Davis, Jason. "LightSail Test Mission Ends with Fiery Reentry". planetary.org. The Planetary Society. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference planetary-20221117 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Davis, Jason (3 March 2017). "Signed, sealed but not delivered: LightSail 2 awaits ship date". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "LightSail". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 29 March 2017.