LightSail 2 ist so Schuhschachtel aber ausgestattet mit einem großen Sonnensegel. Im Juni soll es von SpaceX ins All gebracht werden und dann um die Erde kreisen. Insgesamt soll der Verein The Planetary Society 10 Jahre an dem Projekt gearbeitet haben, das auf eine Idee von Carl Sagan zurückgeht.
The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft is ready to embark on a challenging mission to demonstrate the power of sunlight for propulsion.
Weighing just 5 kilograms, the loaf-of-bread-sized spacecraft, known as a CubeSat, is scheduled to lift off on 22 June 2019 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Once in space, LightSail 2 will deploy a boxing ring-sized solar sail and attempt to raise its orbit using the gentle push from solar photons.
It’s the culmination of a 10-year project with an origin story linked to the 3 scientist-engineers who founded The Planetary Society in 1980.
„Forty years ago, my professor Carl Sagan shared his dream of using solar sail spacecraft to explore the cosmos. The Planetary Society is realizing the dream,“ said Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye. „Thousands of people from all over the world came together and supported this mission. We couldn’t have done it without them. Carl Sagan, and his colleagues Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman, created our organization to empower people everywhere to advance space science and exploration. We are go for launch!“