&sq=&lang=&file=File:Sunjammer-solar-sail-prototype.jpg) Sunjammer as seen from the top of the vacuum chamber where it was tested. | |
| Names | Solar Sail Demonstrator |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Technology demonstration |
| Operator | NASA |
| Website | The Sunjammer Project |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | LGarde |
| Launch mass | 32 kg (71 lb) |
| Dimensions | 38 m × 38 m (125 ft × 125 ft) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | Canceled (planned for January 2015) |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Sunjammer (Solar Sail Demonstrator) was a NASA mission intended to demonstrate a solar sail constructed by LGarde, but was canceled before launch. The largest solar sail made as of 2013, Sunjammer was named after a 1964 [1] Arthur C. Clarke story of the same name, Sunjammer, in which several solar sails compete in a race to the Moon.[2] Sunjammer was slated to launch in January 2015 as the secondary payload of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, along with the Earth observation satellite DSCOVR.[2] Citing a lack of confidence in its contractor's ability to deliver, the mission was canceled in October 2014.[3]
- ^ "Short Stories". Arthur C. Clarke. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- ^ a b "World's Largest Solar Sail to Launch in November 2014". Space.com. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- ^ Leone, Dan (17 October 2014). "NASA Nixes Sunjammer Mission, Cites Integration, Schedule Risk". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.