{"501611":{"#nid":"501611","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Eyes on the Skies: LightSail-A Debuts Technology","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJune 9\u003C\/strong\u003E: The final --\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eand most dramatic\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E-- stage of the LightSail-A mission was pulled off this week when the 11-pound spacecraft deployed its 344-square-foot solar sail in low-Earth orbit, returning a mesmerizing image to its cheering sections at Georgia Tech, Caly Poly, and The Planetary Society.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGround control stations at both universities have been tracking the satellite since it was deployed from the Atlas V rocket, May 20. Developed by The Planetary Society, the satellite is testing a new method of propelling future space travel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech has been responsible for LightSail-A\u0027s mission design, spacecraft tracking, and mission operations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn 2016 the\u0026nbsp; LightSail-B mission will\u0026nbsp; demonstrate active control of the solar sail. At that time, the Georgia Tech Prox-1 spacecraft will deploy LightSail-B into orbit, and provide on-orbit inspection as LightSail-B deploys its solar sail.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor now, however, it\u0027s all about LightSail-A, which is giving scientists an opportunity to test the solar sail concept.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor a few days after LightSail-A\u0027s solar panels were deployed\u0026nbsp; last week, a radio silence ensued -- the result of a minor glitch in the satellite\u0027s batteries. But the system was able to boot up and deploy its solar sail this week.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMission manager Dr. Dave Spencer explained the signficance of the LightSail-A mission, which will end when the now-deployed sail falls out of orbit\u0026nbsp; (within a day or two):\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022By harnessing the momentum of the Sun\u2019s photons, a solar sail can impart a tiny but continuous thrust to the host spacecraft. Over time, this thrust results in an acceleration that can allow the spacecraft to reach the outer solar system or even interstellar space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe LightSail-A mission has been a tremendous challenge. \u0026nbsp;It is an ambitious mission, built and operated on a very limited budget. \u0026nbsp;It is very rewarding to achieve full mission success.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech has played a critical role in that success. \u0026nbsp;The experience in working with LightSail-A has moved our team up the learning curve, and put us in a strong position to succeed with our own in-house missions. \u0026nbsp;It has been valuable for the students to see the LightSail-A engineering team work through difficult problems, try things, make mistakes, try again, and ultimately succeed. Space flight is hard, and it is much easier to work through problems during ground testing prior to launch than it is in flight.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPrevious LightSail dispatches\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJUNE 3:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;The students of AE\u0027s Space Systems Design Lab (SSDL)\u0026nbsp;had a unique way of celebrating today\u0027s 50th anniversary of America\u0027s first walk in space: they gathered in the third floor of the ESM building to serve as the mission control center for another space adventure, LightSail-A.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaunched May 20, as a part of the Atlas V payload, the tiny satellite was scheduled to deploy its solar panels today.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy 4:00 p.m., all indications pointed to a successful deployment, says mission manager Prof. David Spencer.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022From the information we\u0027ve received, the panels are showing colder temperatures, which tells us that they have deployed,\u0022 said Spencer. \u0022We\u0027re also troubleshooting any problems we might have with the batteries, so that they are ready for Friday\u0027s deployment.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn Friday, the team will monitor the deployment of technology that could change the way future space vehicles are propelled: a tissue-thin, solar-powered \u0022sail.\u0022 The sail is designed to capture some of the propulsive energy of the solar wind, thereby offering the possibility of reducing the fuel needed for space flight.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech-based mission control center will be joined by another ground station at Cal Poly to monitor how the inaugural deployment of this new technology goes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech, Spencer is assisted in his work by a team of SSDL students, who are collecting information on the performance of the satellite, the solar panels, and the solar sail. The data they collect will allow engineers to test and optimize all system designs for future deployments.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELightSail-A is sponsored by The Planetary Society and NASA\u0027s CubeSat Launch Initiative. Next year, a more comprehensive demonstration of the LightSail technology will be conducted via Lightsail-B, which will be launched from the Georgia Tech built Prox-1 satellite.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFind out more about the\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ae.gatech.edu\/node\/1444\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Prox-1 project.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EListen to this\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hightail.com\/dl?phi_action=app%2ForchestrateDownload\u0026amp;rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hightail.com%2Ftransfer.php%3Faction%3Dbatch_download%26send_id%3D2757497388%26email%3D6379ac2af5bc4f0007c27c2e47010239\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Erecorded transmission\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp;of mission control getting its first signals from LightSail-A. There\u0027s even a congratulations from Bill Nye, the Science Guy.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The final -- and most dramatic -- stage of the LightSail-A mission was pulled off this week when the 11-pound spacecraft deployed its 344-square-foot solar sail in low-Earth orbit, returning a mesmerizing image to its cheering sections at Georgia Tech."}],"uid":"30502","created_gmt":"2016-02-17 11:17:49","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:46","author":"Sapna Mistry","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-06-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-06-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"501601":{"id":"501601","type":"image","title":"Eyes on the Skies: LightSail-A Debuts Technology","body":null,"created":"1455904800","gmt_created":"2016-02-19 18:00:00","changed":"1475895261","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:21","alt":"Eyes on the Skies: LightSail-A Debuts Technology","file":{"fid":"204727","name":"lightsail2team-vertical300.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lightsail2team-vertical300_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lightsail2team-vertical300_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":184463,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lightsail2team-vertical300_0.jpg?itok=AlebuydV"}}},"media_ids":["501601"],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"98181","name":"David Spencer"},{"id":"126111","name":"GT-AE"},{"id":"169930","name":"LightSail-A"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["kathleen.moore@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}