A new NASA experimental mission is ready to blast off into orbit, using photons from the Sun to power its way to higher altitudes.
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he Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) is scheduled for release on Tuesday during a launch window that opens at 6 p.m. ET. The mission will lift off aboard a RocketLab Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. You can tune in to the launch via Rocket Lab’s live stream on your website or watch it via the feed below.
NASA’s ACS3 is designed to test new deployable materials and structures for solar sail propulsion systems, including new composite plumes that will be used to deploy the solar sail once it reaches orbit. Composite boots are made of a polymer material; They are lightweight and remain rigid and resistant to bending and deformation when exposed to different temperatures. They function in the same way as the boom of a sailboat, except that they are designed to capture the propulsive power of sunlight instead of wind. Once deployed, the solar sail will extend 30 feet (9 meters) per side.
Solar sails are powered by photons from the Sun, causing small bursts of momentum that propel the spacecraft further from the star. If a spacecraft is able to overcome the resistance of the Earth’s atmosphere, it could potentially reach very high altitudes.
Rocket Lab’s Electron will deploy the microwave-sized cubes about 600 miles (966 kilometers) above Earth, which is about twice the altitude of the International Space Station. From there, the solar sail will be high enough to gain altitude and overcome atmospheric drag using the small force of sunlight on the sail, which is roughly equivalent to the weight of a paperclip resting on your palm, according to POT.
NASA is not the only one carrying out experiments on this mission. Rocket Lab is reusing an electron booster for the first time during the upcoming launch. The company’s “Swarm Start” mission will launch its electron rocket with a booster that already used for a previous release.
On January 31, the “Four of a Kind” mission saw the first stage of the electron rocket retreat towards Earth with the help of a parachute before falling into the Pacific Ocean about 17 minutes after takeoff. The company recovered the rocket propellant and is now reusing it. for another flight. Rocket Lab has been experimenting with Electron reusability, hoping to get a little closer to its main industry rival, SpaceX. The launch will be an important test of the company’s ability to reuse the two-stage vehicle.
The Electron rocket will also carry NEONSAT-1, an Earth observation satellite for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
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