NASA Space Technology
Rachel Hoover
Apr 22, 2024
A brand recent NASA mission is making an are attempting out a recent system to navigate our solar machine by hoisting its waft into dwelling – no longer to receive the wind, but the propulsive vitality of daylight hours.
NASA’sEvolved Composite Solar Scuttle Systemis led by the company’s Ames Analysis Heart in California’s Silicon Valley. Themicrowave oven-sized CubeSatis scheduled to openaboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the firm’s Launch Advanced 1 on the Mahia Peninsula of Novel Zealand. The open window opens at 3 p.m. PDTon Tuesday, April 23 (10 p.m. UTC). Successful deployment and operation of the solar waft’s gentle-weight composite booms will indicate the functionality and beginning the door to increased scale missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
As soon because it arrives in its orbit, roughly 600 miles above Earth, the CubeSat will deploy a gentle-weight daylight hours-powered composite solar waft machine that measures higher than 800 square toes. Great love a sailboat makes consume of wind to traverse the ocean, the solar waft technology will consume the stress of daylight hours to traipse via dwelling and possess a chain of maneuvers to show orbit elevating and reducing. In the path of the demonstration, the spacecraft would possibly possibly be considered to the naked behold within the evening sky.
Media attracted to scheduling an interview with one among the NASA Ames engineers fervent with the come of theCubeSatwould possibly possibly additionally composed email the NASA Ames Place of work of Communications at[email protected].
A media handy resource reel including fascinating clips of the solar waft machine is on handhere.
Earn open updates, breaking news, and pictures on therunt satellites blogas smartly as NASA Ames’Instagram,FacebookandX.
For added info about NASA’s Ames Analysis Heart, talk about with:
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Rachel Hoover
Ames Analysis Heart, Silicon Valley, Calif.
650-604-4789