Credit NASA’s Ames Research Center
NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System seeks to advance future space travel and expand our understanding of our Sun and Solar System.
Traveling through space using solar sails is no longer just a fantasy from movies or books. In April, a new and improved solar sail technology called the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System will launch aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand.
This innovation has the potential to revolutionize space exploration and deepen our understanding of the Sun and our solar system.
Solar sails work by harnessing the pressure from sunlight to propel a spacecraft. By adjusting their orientation relative to the Sun, the reflective sails catch and bounce off photons, generating thrust without the need for traditional propulsion systems.
This could pave the way for longer and more cost-effective space missions. Until now, the main challenge has been the weight of the sail’s supporting structures, similar to the mast of a sailboat.
Credit NASA’s Ames Research Center
However, NASA is poised to overcome this obstacle and usher in a new era of space travel.
source NASA
