OrbitalHub

Credits: The Planetary Society

After its first solar sail spacecraft Cosmos-1 was lost due to a faulty launch vehicle, the Planetary Society remained committed to the mission of building a solar sail spacecraft.

The new solar sail project, called LightSail, will consist of three spacecraft.

The first spacecraft, LightSail-1, is designed around a CubeSat spacecraft bus, has a thirty-two square meter sail, and will demonstrate the concept of solar sail navigation. The Planetary Society estimates that LightSail-1 will be ready for launch by the end of 2010. LightSail-1 will fly as a secondary payload on another mission, which is the traditional method of deploying micro and nano satellites, in order to decrease the cost of the mission. While LightSail-1 is a test platform for new technologies, LightSail 2 and 3 will carry scientific payloads in orbit.

You can be part of the LightSail program. Visit The Planetary Society website and see how you can help make a dream reality.