Do Look Up! NASA Unfurls Massive Shiny Solar Sail in Orbit
4th September 2024
NASA has successfully extended into orbit an 80 m2 (860 square foot) sail that is designed to catch emissions from the Sun and convert them into propulsion for space exploration.
The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) was launched on April 23 from New Zealand aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron hardware and – after months of careful checking – was successfully unfurled at 1333 EDT (1033 PDT) on Thursday, August 29. Such is the compact nature of the spacecraft that the whole thing fit inside a 23x23x34 centimeter (9x9x13 inch) CubeSat before being deployed.
“The sail will appear as a square about half the size of a tennis court,” NASA Ames reported.
“Now, with the sail fully extended, the Solar Sail System may be visible to some keen skywatchers on Earth who look up at the right time. Stay tuned to NASA.gov and @NASAAmes on social media for updates on how to catch the spacecraft passing over your area.”