Author Topic: LightSail cubesat on Atlas Launch (Read 18415 times)

Retired Downrange · « **on:** 05/15/2015 04:06 pm »

From The Planetary Society
...May [20] 2015, our first LightSail spacecraft will hitch a ride to orbit aboard an Atlas V rocket for a shakedown cruise. We won’t fly high enough above the Earth's atmosphere for solar sailing, but we'll test our sail deployment sequence...
http://sail.planetary.org/missioncontrol

Also They have a Kickstarter campaign to advance this project:
http://sail.planetary.org/index.html

SkipMorrow · « **Reply #1 on:** 05/20/2015 02:12 pm »

I wonder if the lightsail will be naked-eye visible.

Retired Downrange · « **Reply #2 on:** 05/20/2015 02:21 pm »

From:
http://sail.planetary.org

"In May 2015, our first LightSail spacecraft will hitch a ride to orbit aboard an Atlas V rocket for a shakedown cruise. We won’t fly high enough above the Earth's atmosphere for solar sailing, but we'll test our sail deployment sequence and snap some pretty pictures.....

Three electromagnetic torque rods aboard LightSail will interact with Earth’s magnetic field, orienting the spacecraft. Ground-based lasers will measure the effect of sunlight on the sails. As LightSail breezes around the Earth, its shiny sails will be visible from the ground. We’ll organize viewing campaigns to show people where to look.

LightSail and Prox-1 will be released into an orbit with an altitude of 720 kilometers (450 miles), high enough to escape most of the planet's atmospheric drag. Prox-1 will eject LightSail into open space. Later, it will rendezvous with LightSail and inspect it. When LightSail unfurls its solar sails, Prox-1 will be nearby to capture images of the big moment."

Kryten · « **Reply #3 on:** 05/20/2015 02:43 pm »

AFAIK Prox 1 isn't on this launch, it's set for LightSail-B on the Falcon Heavy demo flight.

Retired Downrange · « **Reply #4 on:** 05/20/2015 11:43 pm »

My apologies, upon further checking I see that the information I posted previously WAS referring to the 2016 mission.

However according to the following, the curent LightSail might possibly be spotted after it deploys the Mylar sail next month:

" Veteran satellite watcher Ted Molczan recently discussed the prospects for spotting LightSail once it’s deployed. “By then, the orbit will be visible from the northern hemisphere during the middle of the night. The southern hemisphere may have marginal evening passes. Note that the high area to mass ratio with the sail deployed, combined with the low perigee height, is expected to result in decay as soon as a couple days after deployment.”

Read a further discussion concerning OTV-4 and associated payloads by Mr. Molczan on the See-Sat message board here.

The Planetary Society’s Jason Davis confirmed for Universe Today that LightSail will deploy 28 days after launch. But we may only have a slim two day observation window for LightSail between deployment and reentry.

A deployment of LightSail 28 days after launch would put it in the June 16th timeframe.

“That’s the nominal mission time, yes,” Davis told Universe Today. “Our orbital models predict 2-10 days. For our 2016 flight, the mission will last at least four months.”

See:
http://www.universetoday.com/120288/hunting-lightsail-in-orbit/