NASA's futuristic solar sail technology prototype is getting ready to launch to space this year. Like a sail on the ocean propels a boat with the wind, this space sail is meant to propel payloads by harnessing the pressure of sunlight.
Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
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TechTranscript
00:00 A NASA mission is testing revolutionary technology to allow robotic spacecraft to sail on sunlight.
00:08 The Advanced Composite Solar Sail system introduces a new way to explore the cosmos.
00:16 Much like a sailboat is propelled by wind, a solar sail spacecraft is pushed by light
00:21 from the sun.
00:23 Sunlight is composed of particles called photons.
00:26 As these particles bounce off the reflective sail, the spacecraft accelerates.
00:32 This eliminates the need for rocket propellant and makes it possible for spacecraft to travel
00:38 indefinitely.
00:41 The sail is stored inside a spacecraft about the size of a microwave oven.
00:47 Lightweight carbon fiber booms unroll from the spacecraft to form rigid tubes that support
00:53 the ultra-thin reflected polymer sail.
00:57 When fully deployed, the sail forms a square that is 33 by 33 feet, or about half the size
01:03 of a tennis court.
01:06 Altitude and position are changed by angling the sail toward or away from the sun.
01:12 Results from the mission will guide the design of next-generation solar sail spacecraft to
01:18 explore and conduct science across the solar system.
01:25 [Music]
01:30 (upbeat music)