David A. Spencer, and an interdisciplinary team of students are supporting mission operations during the maiden voyage of LightSail-A, sponsored by The Planetary Society and NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative, which provides opportunities for small satellites to fly as auxiliary payloads on planned missions.  On May 20, 2015 at 11:05am EDT LightSail-A was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. This marks the first time that Georgia Tech students have participated directly in the operation of a spaceflight project through the Space Systems Design Lab (SSDL) Mission Operations Center.  Dr. Spencer is Mission Manager for the LightSail-A project whose mission is to demonstrate a solar sail deployment from within a three-unit CubeSat.

LightSail-A’s flight is supported by two ground stations which are located at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and Georgia Tech’s SSDL Mission Operations Center. The first ground station pass on May 20 was over Cal Poly and the second pass was over Georgia Tech at 5:49p.m. EDT.  As Mission Manager, Prof. Spencer leads the day-to-day operation of the LightSail-A spacecraft.  The SSDL Mission Operation Center will continue to support the LightSail-A flight until its conclusion, estimated near the end of June 2015.

LightSail-A is a shakedown flight designed to demonstrate solar sail deployment, and it will pave the way for a full-fledged solar sailing demonstration in 2016. For this second mission, a nearly identical LightSail-B will ride to orbit housed within the Georgia Tech Prox-1 microsatellite.  Once on-orbit, Prox-1 will deploy LightSail-B and provide on-orbit inspection of the LightSail-B solar sail deployment event. Tracking information for LightSail-A is available through the Planetary Society’s Mission Control Center.

The Center for Space Technology and Research (C-STAR) organizes, integrates, and facilitates Georgia Tech's space science and technology research activities. C-STAR brings together a wide range of Georgia Tech faculty who are active in space-related research and functions as a focal point for the growth of the space industry in the state of Georgia. C-STAR personnel are advancing the frontiers of astrophysics, Earth science, planetary science, robotics, space policy, space technology, and space systems engineering. C-STAR was established in 2013 and is led by Robert D. Braun (Director) and Thomas Orlando (Associate Director).