January 2017
New oceans beckon for solar sail technology
... for target environments can be developed. The NEA Scout, scheduled to launch in 2018, will use its solar sail propulsion system to send the spacecraft to flyby asteroid 1991VG and conduct reconnaissance of it (Figure 2). Figure 2 - Artist concept...
29 April 2020
NASA's new solar sail system to be tested on-board NanoAvionics' satellite
... ACS3 mission is to replace conventional rocket propellants by developing and testing solar sails using sunlight beams to thrust the nanosatellite. These solar sail propulsion systems are designed for future small interplanetary spacecrafts destined...
03 January 2020
China tests mini solar sail in space
...2011. Like its other LightSail companion in space, the solar sail is powered by the reflected light pressure of the sun... verification and environmental tests of the solar sail. For the first stage, the solar sail body is pushed out of the satellite...
June 2022
Sunshades in space could help alleviate Earth’s climate crisis
... past the 1.5C-2.0C maximum acceptable range (as set by the Paris Agreement). NASA’s Solar Cruiser mission, planned for 2025, will demonstrate solar sail propulsion by flying sunward of Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L-1) and maintaining its position...
