Solar Sail Experiment Demonstrates ‘Flight by Light’

 

A major demonstration¹ in solar sailing has been declared a success by the organization that launched the experiment.

The U.S.-based Planetary Society said this week its LightSail 2 spacecraft successfully used sunlight to orbit Earth. The trip was the highest performing solar sail demonstration to date.

Solar sailing is a method that can push a vehicle through space. A spacecraft is attached to a solar sail to capture wind pressure from sunlight. Light is made up of particles called photons. Photons themselves do not have any mass. But when they travel through space, they can create pressure as a force for movement.

LightSail 2 is a small spacecraft that weighs about five kilograms. It was designed by the Planetary Society, a not-for-profit group. It launched into orbit in June from a rocket built by American technology company SpaceX.

"This is a very exciting day for us, and for me personally," Planetary Society chief Bill Nye said in an announcement about the experiment. "This idea that you could fly a spacecraft with nothing but photons is surprising, and for me, it's very romantic that you could be sailing on sunbeams."

The project team said it had confirmed that sunlight was responsible for moving the spacecraft to an orbital high point of about two kilometers. It was the first time solar propulsion was successfully demonstrated in Earth's orbit.

But the technology has been tested before. In 2010, Japan’s Aerospace² Exploration Agency launched a spacecraft called IKAROS. The agency used a solar sail to propel the craft past Venus and into orbit around the sun.

The Planetary Society deployed³ its first solar sail in 2015. The LightSail 1 demonstration successfully released a solar sail before re-entering Earth's atmosphere a week later.

LightSail 2 is a $7 million project paid for by Planetary Society members, as well as citizens who donated to a special campaign.

The goal of LightSail 2 is to demonstrate that solar sails can be used to propel small satellites called CubeSats. These small satellites can carry scientific instruments like cameras. Another main goal is to test the power of sunlight to propel spacecraft without the need for costly⁴ rocket fuel.

Bill Nye said LightSail 2's success could open the door to future space travel possibilities using solar sailing technology. One trip could include Nye’s personal goal: using solar sail spacecraft to carry supplies to Mars. He said future missions could also “look for signs of life and change the course of human history."

Nye added: "Space exploration brings out the best in us."

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

photon – n. a very small piece of matter that is the basic unit of electromagnetic energy

romantic – adj. exciting and mysterious

sunbeam – n. a beam of light from the sun

propulsion – n. the force produced by a system for moving, or propelling, a vehicle or other object

mission – n. an important task, usually involving travel

1 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

2 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

3 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。