[Chat] Solar Sail update

Emil Volcheck volcheck at acm.org
Fri Mar 11 23:35:30 EST 2005


Folks,

The first privately funded space mission is going to
launch in a matter of months.  The Cosmos I Solar Sail
Project will launch a spacecraft that will unfold
a large sail and travel on the solar wind out into
the solar system.  Here's an update from the Planetary
Society.

--Emil

---
SOLAR SAIL UPDATE
by Louis Friedman, Project Director

Flight components have all been delivered and
thoroughly tested, and a full mission sequence has
been simulated with the on-board computer. Our
announced launch period of 1 March to 5 April 2005
has slipped a bit. We do not rule out other small slips
if we take a few extra days here or there in flight
preparations, testing or last-minute checks. Unlike
launch windows for planetary missions, ours is not
fixed by celestial mechanics, so we have much more
leeway in setting a date.

Read the entire February 9 update at:
http://planetary.org/solarsail/latest_update.html

Stay tuned for more updates to come at:
http://planetary.org/solarsail


-- 
Emil Volcheck
volcheck at acm.org
http://acm.org/~volcheck




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