Homework: Solar Sails Loki

Homework about the first gravitational wave detection (version 2).

Solar sailing has been an attractive concept and possibly an alternative mean of space propulsion for decades to come, since solar sail spacecrafts can generate thrust without requiring any propellant. While the resulting acceleration is small the continuous thrust would lead to high speeds. The present work serves to demonstrate the potential of solar sail by analyzing the dynamics of a spacecraft utilizing solar sail and carrying out a parametric study for an interplanetary mission exemplified by specific trajectory to Mars.

2014 IEEE International Conference on Aerospace Electronics and Remote Sensing Technology, 2014

With the progress of solar sail interplanetary travel in the last two decades, various concepts and technologies have been developed. To that end, two means of sailing, Solar Sail and Electric Sail, will be discussed. The capabilities as well as performance aspects of both technologies will be compared by studying different generic missions such as escape orbit and local optimizations of orbital parameters.

Planetary and Space Science, 2023

Recently, we witnessed how the synergy of small satellite technology and solar sailing propulsion enables new missions. Together, small satellites with lightweight instruments and solar sails offer affordable access to deep regions of the solar system, also making it possible to realize hard-to-reach trajectories that are not constrained to the ecliptic plane. Combining these two technologies can drastically reduce travel times within the solar system, while delivering robust science. With solar sailing propulsion capable of reaching the velocities of ∼5-10 AU/yr, missions using a rideshare launch may reach the Jovian system in two years, Saturn in three. The same technologies could allow reaching solar polar orbits in less than two years. Fast, cost-effective, and maneuverable sailcraft that may travel outside the ecliptic plane open new opportunities for affordable solar system exploration, with great promise for heliophysics, planetary science, and astrophysics. Such missions could be modularized to reach different destinations with different sets of instruments. Benefiting from this progress, we present the "Sundiver" concept, offering novel possibilities for the science community. We discuss some of the key technologies, the current design of the Sundiver sailcraft vehicle and innovative instruments, along with unique science opportunities that these technologies enable, especially as this exploration paradigm evolves. We formulate policy recommendations to allow national space agencies, industry, and other stakeholders to establish a strong scientific, programmatic, and commercial focus, enrich and deepen the space enterprise and broaden its advocacy base by including the Sundiver paradigm as a part of broader space exploration efforts.

AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum, 2020

The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 satellite was launched June 25th, 2019, and has successfully demonstrated controlled solar sail propulsion using a CubeSat for the first time. This paper presents an assessment of the spacecraft's attitude determination and control performance along with the resulting changes in its orbit due to controlled solar propulsion. The results of on-orbit testing, important anomalies, and ongoing activities are also discussed. We conclude by offering lessons learned.

2002

The Team Encounter participants, Team Encounter, LLC, AeroAstro Inc., and L'Garde, Inc. have recently completed the preliminary design of the Team Encounter spacecraft, Humanity's First Starship™. The spacecraft, intended to be launched as a secondary payload on an Ariane 5 launcher in the first or second quarter of 2004, consists of two parts: the Carrier, which transports the Sailcraft beyond Earth's gravity well and the Sailcraft which transports its payload of 3 kg out of the solar system. The Carrier must provide a stable platform for deployment and separation of the 4900 m 2 solar sail, and will provide for video streaming of the Sailcraft as it begins its journey. The Team Encounter Sailcraft is the first spacecraft with the capability to self propel itself out of the solar system with a combination of performance-enhancing tacking maneuvers and an areal density of 3.4 g/m 2 including payload. The mission analysis made use of an innovative unified Matlab / Satellite Tool Kit model developed by AeroAstro that simulates geometry, attitude and trajectory concurrently. This model was used to optimize motor firing, Sailcraft deployment and mission phasing. The Sailcraft ADCS control scheme was validated via stability analysis and simulation, and the results will be presented in this paper.

Advances in Space Research, 2011

This special topical issue of Advances in Space Research entitled "Solar sailing: Concepts, technology, missions" compiles contributions on our current knowledge of solar sailing and focuses on recent advancements in solar sailing technologies, near-term solar sailing missions and the physics of solar sailing. Areas of particular interest include dynamics analysis and testing of solar sails, advanced materials and structural concepts of solar sails, hardware and enabling technologies, mission architectures and programs, navigation, control, and modeling. Scientists and engineers from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the aerospace industry and academic institutions from different countries demonstrate the high quality research they are conducting, as well as present the results of their research and future advancement of solar sailing. In addition to general submissions, this issue also includes papers presented by the participants of the Second International Symposium on Solar Sailing (ISSS 2010) that was held at the New York City College of Technology of the City University of New York in July 2010. All manuscripts were fully refereed in accordance with the journal policy. Interestingly enough the year when ISSS 2010 was held and when papers were invited for a special topical issue of Advances in Space Research was marked by the successful launch and deployment of the first solar sail IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) in early June by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. In June 2010 JAXA issued the formal announcement: they successfully deployed IKAROS' about 200 m 2 square sail! Not only that, but the sail's thin-film solar cells are generating power! They have demonstrated actual solar sailing and they have achieved their stated minimum success goals for the mission, so it is definitely time to celebrate! JAXA is planning the second mission that will take place in 2011. It will involve a medium-sized (about 2000 m 2) solar power sail that can generate over 10 kW power even at distance of 5 AU from the sun. The destinations of the spacecraft will be Jupiter and the Trojan asteroids.

2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 2019

Acta Astronautica, 2018

Breakthrough Starshot is an initiative to prove ultra-fast light-driven nanocrafts, and lay the foundations for a first launch to Alpha Centauri within the next generation. Along the way, the project could generate important supplementary benefits to solar system exploration. A number of hard engineering challenges remain to be solved before these missions can become a reality. A system model has been formulated as part of the Starshot systems engineering work. This paper presents the model and describes how it computes cost-optimal point designs. Three point designs are computed: A 0.2 c mission to Alpha Centauri, a 0.01 c solar system precursor mission, and a ground-based test facility based on a vacuum tunnel. All assume that the photon pressure from a 1.06 µm wavelength beam accelerates a circular dielectric sail. The 0.