NASA has placed solar sails in space

NASA has placed solar sails in space

Kyiv  •  UNN

May 3 2024, 01:03 AM • 31171 views

NASA has successfully deployed an 80-square-meter solar sail system in space using RocketLab's Electron rocket, which could be seen from Earth as brightly as the star Sirius.

The US space agency NASA has launched a new advanced composite solar sail system with the help of RocketLab's Electron rocket, UNN reports .

Details

The satellite with the solar sail turns on the probe and tries to make the first contact with the Earth. The 80-square-meter sails were deployed in about 25 minutes.

If conditions are favorable, the spacecraft will even be visible from the Earth.

Thanks to the reflective material of the sails, it will be as bright as the star Sirius, the brightest in the night sky.

Addendum Addendum

Solar sails use the pressure of sunlight to propel them.

Photons hit the sail and, reflecting off it, push the vehicle forward.

Just like a sailboat that turns its sails to catch the wind, this spacecraft can also adjust its orbit by tilting the sail.

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