Tag Archives: solar sail

Feb 14 2019

SSO-A Solar Sails deployed – may be quite bright to naked eye

SSO-A mission's free flyers separating from upper stage of SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket - credit Spaceflight

SSO-A mission’s free flyers separating from upper stage of SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket – credit Spaceflight

The solar sails on the SSO-A mission “Free Flyer” deployers, launched December 3, 2018 with many amateur radio satellites, are believed to have deployed and may now be quite bright to the naked eye.

Ben Taylor writes:

I represent a team from the University of Surrey in the UK; we have been developing and flying drag de-orbit sails with our first successful demonstration on our InflateSail mission in 2017.

Two dragsail systems were installed on the “Free Flyer” deployers used on the SSO-A launch from December 3, 2018 https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/content/-/article/sso-a

The free flyers separated from the launch vehicle and in turn deployed multiple satellites each including Microsats and CubeSats over the course of several hours. The Upper Free Flyer (NORAD ID: 43763) is a large structure at approximately 1,000kg and the Lower Free Flyer is approximately 260kg (NORAD ID: 43760). Each Free Flyer hosts one of our 16m2 aluminised kapton sail which was set to deploy 24 hours after launch.

The systems were standalone isolated systems with no communications so we don’t have any telemetry confirmation. Drag parameters from the TLEs are indicative of a successful deployment, but far from definitive. We’re therefore waiting for them to become optically visible in northern latitudes in the next couple of weeks. Based on the experience with our InflateSail mission, we’d expect these objects to be quite bright to the naked eye if the sails have deployed successfully. InflateSail was 10m2 and (initially) transparent with a +4.2 mag, whereas these sails are 16m2 and metalised so could well flare brightly.

Any observations that could be made by the community of either of these objects would be greatly appreciated and they should make for interesting targets.

We are also the team leading the RemoveDebris mission (NORAD ID: 43510) launched from the ISS last year
https://www.surrey.ac.uk/surrey-space-centre/missions/removedebris

We have a 9m^2 dragsail installed on this mission too which is planned for deployment next month. Similarly, this should make quite a big change to the brightness of the satellite which could make for some interesting observations.

Best Regards,
Ben Taylor,
Guildford, Surrey, UK

Seesat-l mailing list http://mailman.satobs.org/mailman/listinfo/seesat-l

Track of Upper Free Flyer https://n2yo.com/?s=43763&df=1&live=1

Track of Lower Free Flyer https://n2yo.com/?s=43760&df=1&live=1

Sep 2 2013

Successful Kickstarter for Raspberry Pi LunarSail CubeSat

LunarSail Graphic

LunarSail Graphic

LunarSail is an Open-Source Cubesat and Solar Sail Lunar Orbiter project. Matthew Travis used Kickstarter to raise funds and comfortably exceeded his target of $11,00 by getting pledges for $15,817.

The team say “LunarSail’s computer is based on the Raspberry Pi, which is a complete Linux-based single-board computer running on an ARM processor”.

LunarSail aims to be the first “amateur” satellite to reach lunar orbit and hopes to get a free launch via the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative. The team plan to submit a proposal by November 26.

LunarSail is an effort to demonstrate the ability of a spacecraft under solar sail propulsion to navigate itself into a lunar trajectory and insert itself into Lunar orbit. A primary objective of the LunarSail mission is to serve as a testbed for CubeSat operations beyond low Earth orbit and applications requiring cislunar or interplanetary rendezvous.

LunarSail plans to take advantage of the CubeSat platform to conduct a first of its kind mission to use a solar sail to send a spacecraft to the Moon and then utilize the sail’s unique characteristics to navigate into lunar orbit.

LunarSail on Kickstarter
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aresinstituteinc/lunarsail-the-worlds-first-crowdsourced-solar-sail

ARES Institute http://www.aresinstitute.org/

Jul 13 2012

LightSail-1 CubeSat Videos

Planetary Society’s LightSail-1 Spacecraft

 

The Planetary Society’s amateur radio spacecraft Lightsail-1 carries a 32m square metre solar sail demonstration.

After launch LightSail-1 will spend a few weeks in orbit during which the team will check out the subsystems. The side panels will then be deployed, exposing a folded sail, and a motor driven sail deployment will extend rigid booms.

With the sail deployed, the primary operation for the spacecraft are performing 90 degree slews to get the sail normal to the sun vector, or edge on with the sun vector.

A combination of ground based sensors and on board sensors will be used to characterize the acceleration due to solar pressure. Imagers on the deployed panels will be used to capture the sail deployment.

It is proposing to have a downlink in the 435 MHz band with a 1.5W output, semi-duplex 9k6 GMSK AX25 with a CW preamble to a single monopole. LightSail-1 is a 3U CubeSat weighing around 4.5 kg. More information will be available at http://polysat.calpoly.edu/LightSail.php

Watch deployment of the solar sail

Watch deployment of the solar panels

Watch antenna deployment in slow motion

The Planetary Society‘s LightSail program will launch three separate spacecraft over the course of several years, beginning with LightSail-1. Lightsail-2 will attempt a longer duration flight to higher Earth orbits, demonstrating that solar sails can increase their orbital energy and taking the next major step toward using solar sails for missions in and beyond Earth orbit.

LightSail-3 will fly to the Sun-Earth Libration Point, L1, where solar sail spacecraft could be permanently placed as solar weather stations, monitoring the geomagnetic storms from the Sun that potentially endanger electrical grids on Earth as well as satellites in Earth orbit.

Planetary Society LightSail-1 http://www.planetary.org/explore/projects/lightsail-solar-sailing/

Mar 31 2012

Lego™ 1U Cubesat,launch confirmed April 2012

Lego ™ first 1U Cubesat

In a little under a weeks time Lego-1 is due to make history by being the first 1U cubesat to be made from 40% lego,a team from ogel universtiy hope to be the first
team to have a cubesat in orbit, made by the 1940’s building blocks.

Mr Smith, the team leader says “The glue used to construct Lego-1 has been tested
by  NASA” after a little more questioning we was told the compound is ‘top secret’
but we managed to see a tube of it on the way into the clean room. ‘Polymerization of methyl-2-cyanoacrylate’ holds this cubesat together,incasing all the electronics, including a mode V beacon, and an impressive Linear Transponder (Inverting).

Uplink 435.2000-435.2600
Downlink 145.9200-TBD

Lego-1 is due to launch on the English built ‘yadslooflirpa’ Rocket in April this year,all final checks are now complete and  finger crossed, be the first lego built Cubesat in orbit’ A full in-depth article is due to be officially released on the 3rd of April 2012.

Steve from Ogel university comments “We are all looking forward to the launch,I worked on the solar-sail as part of my Masters degree,after this project I hope to release my new concept,a ‘1R’  a round cubesat, it’s a little bigger than a tennis ball”

GoodLuck with your round cubesat Steve!

Telemetry software will become available within the next few days,Lego-1 also hopes to become the first cubesat to allow amateur radio operators to tweet messages direct to the Cubesat, for them to be rebroadcasted via a 5w beacon. ( @lego-1 )

For more information please contact Rob, m0tfo@amsat.org

Download a photo of the team behind the Lego Cubesat

[wpdm_file id=3]

Don’t forget you can give a kind donation towards the FUNcube Launch Fund http://tinyurl.com/czfcro4
Mar 7 2012

Amateur Radio Spacecraft LightSail-1

Artists_impression_of_LightSail

Artists impression of LightSail - Image Credit Planetary Society

The amateur radio spacecraft LightSail-1 is a 32 square metre solar sail demonstrator.

The first full scale deployment of  the solar sail was conducted on March 4, 2011 at Stellar Exploration in San Luis Obispo, California. Read more

After launch LightSail-1 will spend a few weeks in orbit during which the team will check out the subsystems. The side panels will then be deployed, exposing a folded sail, and a motor driven sail deployment will extend rigid booms.

With the sail deployed, the primary operation for the spacecraft are performing 90 degree slews to get the sail normal to the sun vector, or edge on with the sun vector.

A combination of ground based sensors and on board sensors will be used to characterize the acceleration due to solar pressure. Imagers on the deployed panels are used to capture the sail deployment.

Proposing to have a downlink in the 435 MHz band with 1.5W output, semi-duplex 9k6 GMSK AX25 with a CW preamble to a single monopole. LightSail-1 is a 3U CubeSat weighing around 4.5 kg. More information will be available at http://polysat.calpoly.edu/LightSail.php

Watch LightSail-1 Video Update: Construction Begins!

The Planetary Society‘s LightSail program will launch three separate spacecraft over the course of several years, beginning with LightSail-1. Lightsail-2 will attempt a longer duration flight to higher Earth orbits, demonstrating that solar sails can increase their orbital energy and taking the next major step toward using solar sails for missions in and beyond Earth orbit.

LightSail-3 will fly to the Sun-Earth Libration Point, L1, where solar sail spacecraft could be permanently placed as solar weather stations, monitoring the geomagnetic storms from the Sun that potentially endanger electrical grids on Earth as well as satellites in Earth orbit.

Article LightSail-1 Nears Critical Design Review http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=12722

Centauri Dreams http://www.centauri-dreams.org/

Planetary Society – LightSail http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/innovative_technologies/solar_sailing/multimission_project.html