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Solar sail

Solar sails (also known as lightsails, light sails, and photon sails) are a method of spacecraft propulsion using radiation pressure exerted by sunlight on large surfaces. A number of spaceflight missions to test solar propulsion and navigation have been proposed since the 1980s. The two spacecraft to successfully use the technology for propulsion were…

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Overview

History of concept

Types

Alternatives

Physical principles for reflective sails

Applications

Sail configurations

Reflective sail making

Projects operating or completed

Projects proposed or cancelled or not selected

Projects still in development or unknown status

In popular culture

Bibliography

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Solar sail

Nodes234
Edges233
Triples368
Avg. degree1.99
Density0.008547
Components1

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Solar sail

Top relations

related to Bibliography · 115
Solar sail → Acta Astronautica, Aeronautics, Aerospace Sciences, AL, Albuquerque, All-Metal Solar Sail, Analysis, Application, ASIN, Astrodynamics, August, B00A9YGY4IG, Beyond, Bibcode, Bo, Breach Science Publishers, Brusa, Chapter IV, Chenchen, Chichester
related to External links · 41
Solar sail → Aerospace Engineering School, Age, AIAA Paper, American Institute, April, Archived, Attempt Historic Solar Sail, Beamed Energy PropulsionSpace Sailing, Benjamin Diedrich, Dachwald's Website Broad, Dana Coulter, Deflecting Asteroids, Deployed Solar Sail Film, Deployment, Good, Gregory, IEEE Spectrum, Interstellar Transportation, Interview, June
related to Deorbiting artificial satellites · 21
Solar sail → ARTICA, British, Cranfield University, CubeSat, Cubesat URSAMAIOR, December, DeorbitSail, Earth, February, In July, In June, InflateSail, It, May, PW-Sat2, Satellites, Small, Spacemind, TechDemoSat-1, The
related to Planetary Society LightSail Projects · 21
Solar sail → Barents Sea, Cosmos, Cosmos Studios, CubeSat, Despite, Earth, LightSail-1, Louis Friedman, Mylar, NanoSail-D, November, On Carl Sagan's, On June, Planetary Society, Russian Academy, Science, SpaceX Falcon Heavy, The, The Planetary Society, They
related to NanoSail-D 2010 · 18
Solar sail → After, August, Center, December, Falcon, FASTSAT, January, Marshall, Minotaur IV, NanoSail-D, NanoSail-D2, NASA, NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Marshall Space Flight, NASA's, November, The, The NanoSail-D
related to NEA Scout · 16
Solar sail → Artemis, Center, CubeSat, Earth, Four, However, In, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, MSFC, NASA, NASA's Marshall Space Flight, NEA, NEA Scout, SLS, The Near-Earth Asteroid Scout
related to OKEANOS · 14
Solar sail → Asteroid Explorer, Astronautics, Earth, Exploration, However, In-situ, Japan's ISAS, Japan's JAXA, Jupiter's Trojan, Large-class, OKEANOS, Outer Solar System, Outsized Kite-craft, The OKEANOS Jupiter Trojan
related to IKAROS 2010 · 13
Solar sail → AKATSUKI, IKAROS, Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, May, On, Orbit, Radiation Of, Sun, The, Using, Venus
related to Materials · 13
Solar sail → As, Cosmos, Drexler, Eric Drexler, He, His, Kapton, Mylar, PET, Sails, Such, Sun, The
related to Satellites · 13
Solar sail → Earth, Forward, In, Likewise, Mars, Martian, Robert, Robert Zubrin, Spacecraft, Such, Sun, The Case, This

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Important terminology

sail solar sails sun would spacecraft pressure light space could propulsion using use orbit radiation also earth launched used mission

Entity relationships Subject–Predicate–Object triples

SubjectPredicateObjectConfidenceSrc
the Earth by tilting the sail at the appropriate angle needed to counteract the planet's gravity.In his book The Case for Marsinstance ofLikewise a solar sail-equipped spacecraft could also remain on station nearly above the polar solar terminator of a planet0.80text
Robert Zubrin points out that the reflected sunlight from a large statiteinstance ofLikewise a solar sail-equipped spacecraft could also remain on station nearly above the polar solar terminator of a planet0.80text
placed near the polar terminator of the planet Marsinstance ofLikewise a solar sail-equipped spacecraft could also remain on station nearly above the polar solar terminator of a planet0.80text
could be focused on one of the Martian polar ice caps to significantly warm the planet's atmosphereinstance ofLikewise a solar sail-equipped spacecraft could also remain on station nearly above the polar solar terminator of a planet0.80text
alumina for laser lightsailsinstance ofshowed that various materials0.80text
carbon fiber for microwave pushed lightsails were superior sail materials to the previously standard aluminium or Kapton films.In 2000instance ofshowed that various materials0.80text
Energy Science Laboratories developed a new carbon fiber material that might be useful for solar sailsinstance ofshowed that various materials0.80text
Solar sailrelated to Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3)The NASA Advanced Composite0.60section
Solar sailrelated to Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3)Solar Sail System0.60section
Solar sailrelated to Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3)ACS30.60section
Solar sailrelated to Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3)It0.60section
Solar sailrelated to Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3)NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative0.60section

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