NanoSail-D2
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| Mission type | Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Mission duration | 240 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 3U CubeSat |
| Launch mass | 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 20 November 2010, 01:25 UTC |
| Rocket | Minotaur IV/HAPS |
| Launch site | Kodiak Pad 1 |
| Contractor | Orbital Sciences |
| Deployed from | FASTSAT |
| Deployment date | Commanded: 3 December 2010 Occurred: 17 January 2011 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 17 September 2011 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Perigee | 654 kilometers (406 mi) |
| Apogee | 623 kilometers (387 mi) |
| Inclination | 71.9761 degrees |
| Period | 97.45 minutes |
NanoSail-D2 was a small satellite built by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Ames Research Center to study the deployment of a solar sail in space. It was a three-unit CubeSat, measuring 30×10×10 centimetres (11.8×3.9×3.9 in) with a mass of 4 kilograms (8.8 lb). Its solar sail had an area of 10 square meters (110 sq ft), and was deployed in around five seconds.
It was planned to be deployed from the FASTSAT satellite around 3 December 2010, two weeks after launch. The satellite did not eject at that time, but on January 17, 2011, it ejected on its own and deployed its sail three days later on the 20th. The beacon signal began transmitting after ejection and was first received on the afternoon of January 19, 2011.
NanoSail-D2 was originally built as a ground spare for the NanoSail-D satellite, which was launched aboard a Falcon 1 in 2008, and was subsequently lost when the rocket malfunctioned during stage separation. Over the next two years improvements were made to the spare, and the satellite was incorporated into the FASTSAT mission.
NanoSail-D2 was launched aboard a Minotaur IV/HAPS rocket, inside the FASTSAT satellite. FASTSAT was a secondary payload on the launch, with the primary payload being STPSat-2. The launch also carried RAX, O/OREOS, FalconSat-5, and the two FASTRAC satellites; Sara-Lily and Emma. The Minotaur was launched from Launch Pad 1 of the Kodiak Launch Complex at 01:25 UTC on 20 November 2010.Orbital Sciences Corporation conducted the launch under a contract with the United States Air Force.
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