LightSail
| Names | LightSail-1 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Technology Demonstration |
| Operator | The Planetary Society |
| Website | sail |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | Early 2018 |
| Rocket | Falcon Heavy |
| Launch site | LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
LightSail 2 is a project to demonstrate controlled solar sailing using a CubeSat developed by The Planetary Society, a global non-profit organization devoted to space exploration. The spacecraft core measures 10 by 10 by 30 centimeters, and its kite-shaped solar sail deploys into a total area of 32 square meters (340 sq ft).
LightSail2 is currently scheduled to be launched as part of a US Air Force Space Test Program package (STP-2) on a Falcon Heavy rocket in early 2018.
On May 20, 2015, a nearly identical demonstration spacecraft, LightSail 1 (formerly called LightSail-A), was launched, and deployed its solar sail on June 7, 2015.
In 2005, The Planetary Society attempted to send a larger solar sail named Cosmos 1 into space, but the spacecraft's Russian Volna launch vehicle failed to reach orbit. In 2009, the Society began working on a CubeSat-based solar sail based on NASA's NanoSail-D project, which was lost in August 2008 due to the failure of its Falcon 1 launch vehicle. (A second unit, NanoSail-D2, was successfully deployed in early 2011.)
By 2011, the LightSail project had passed its critical design review, which was conducted by a team including JPL project veterans Bud Schurmeier, Glenn Cunningham, and Viktor Kerzhanovich, as well as Dave Bearden of Aerospace Corporation. The original estimated cost of the LightSail project was US$1.8 million, which was raised from membership dues and private sources. The prototype spacecraft LightSail 1 (or LightSail-A) was built in San Luis Obispo by Stellar Exploration Incorporated , and final integration and testing prior to launch occurred at Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation in Pasadena, California.
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