Episode 540: Planetary Society Deploys LightSail 2’s Solar Sail. What Does The Future Hold For Solar Sails?

Where you can travel in space depends on how much propellant you’ve got on board your rocket and how efficiently you can use it. But there’s a source of free propellant right here in the Solar System - the Sun - which is streaming out photons in all directions. You just need to catch them.

And right now, the Planetary Society’s new LightSail 2 spacecraft is testing out just how well it’ll work.

Light Sail 2 Photos:

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-team-continues-tweaks-tests.html

Episode on Breakthrough Starshot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FWcEtXgK2g&list=PLbJ42wpShvml6Eg22WjWAR-6QUufHFh2v&index=146

Episode on Project Dragonfly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=598UtgxFd1E&list=PLbJ42wpShvml6Eg22WjWAR-6QUufHFh2v&index=23

Audio Podcast version:

ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2

RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio

What Fraser's Watching Playlist:

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Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / [email protected]

Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw

Chad Weber - [email protected]

References:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-maximum-speed-a-chemical-rocket-can-achieve

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-has-launched.html

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-team-continues-tweaks-tests.html

https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2014-4435

https://www.nasa.gov/content/nea-scout

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2018/pdf/1406.pdf

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2017/20170925-solar-sail-dsg.html

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