Sunjammer (spacecraft): Difference between revisions
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Sunjammer was to carry two British space science payloads: the Solar Wind Analyser (SWAN) developed by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory of University College London,<ref>[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/maps-faculty/maps-news-publication/maps1314 Sunjammer team to present latest solar sail technology<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and the MAGIC magnetometer developed by the Blackett Laboratory of Imperial College London.<ref>[http://www.jonathaneastwood.co.uk/ Dr. Jonathan Eastwood, Imperial College London<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/10034237/Sunjammer-spacecraft-to-sail-towards-the-sun.html Sunjammer spacecraft to 'sail' towards the sun - Telegraph<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
Sunjammer was to carry two British space science payloads: the Solar Wind Analyser (SWAN) developed by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory of University College London,<ref>[http://www.ucl.ac.uk/maps-faculty/maps-news-publication/maps1314 Sunjammer team to present latest solar sail technology<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and the MAGIC magnetometer developed by the Blackett Laboratory of Imperial College London.<ref>[http://www.jonathaneastwood.co.uk/ Dr. Jonathan Eastwood, Imperial College London<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/10034237/Sunjammer-spacecraft-to-sail-towards-the-sun.html Sunjammer spacecraft to 'sail' towards the sun - Telegraph<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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Sunjammer was to carry a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight payload of cremated remains.<ref name=partners_press_release>{{cite web | url=http://www.sunjammermission.com/Content/docs/Sunjammer_Partners_PressRelease.pdf | title=SUNJAMMER MISSION PARTNERS ANNOUNCED for GIANT NASA SOLAR SAIL LAUNCH | work=sunjammermission.com Press Release | date=June 4, 2013 }}</ref> |
Sunjammer was to carry a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight payload of cremated remains.<ref name=partners_press_release>{{cite web | url=http://www.sunjammermission.com/Content/docs/Sunjammer_Partners_PressRelease.pdf | title=SUNJAMMER MISSION PARTNERS ANNOUNCED for GIANT NASA SOLAR SAIL LAUNCH | work=sunjammermission.com Press Release | date=June 4, 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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* [ |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160112015225/http://sunjammermission.com/ Sunjammer Solar Sail Mission] Sunjammermission.com web site |
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* [http://www.lgarde.com/programs/space-propulsion/sunjammer/ Sunjammer] L'Garde Inc. Sunjammer page |
* [http://www.lgarde.com/programs/space-propulsion/sunjammer/ Sunjammer] L'Garde Inc. Sunjammer page |
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* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/solarsail/solarsail_overview.html Solar Sail Demonstration (The Sunjammer Project)] NASA Sunjammer Mission page |
* [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/solarsail/solarsail_overview.html Solar Sail Demonstration (The Sunjammer Project)] NASA Sunjammer Mission page |
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Revision as of 11:55, 6 June 2018
 Sunjammer as seen from the top of the vacuum chamber where it was tested | |
| Names | Solar Sail Demonstrator |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Website | The Sunjammer Project |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | LGarde |
| Launch mass | 32 kilograms (70 lb) |
| Dimensions | 124 by 124 feet (38 by 38 m) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | Cancelled (planned for January 2015) |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
Sunjammer (Solar Sail Demonstrator) was a NASA mission intended to demonstrate a solar sail constructed by LGarde, but was cancelled before launch. The largest solar sail made as of 2013, Sunjammer was named after a 1964[1] Arthur C. Clarke story of the same name, Sunjammer, in which several solar sails compete in a race across the Solar System.[2] Sunjammer was slated to launch in January 2015 as the secondary payload of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, along with the Earth observation satellite DSCOVR.[2] Citing a lack of confidence in its contractor’s ability to deliver, the mission was cancelled in October 2014.[3]
Spacecraft design
Constructed of Kapton in order to withstand the extreme temperatures of space, Sunjammer has a width and height of 38 metres (124 ft), giving it a total surface area of over 1,200 square metres (13,000 sq ft) and making it the largest solar sail as of 2013.[4] Despite its huge surface area, Sunjammer has a thickness of only 5 μm, giving it an extremely low weight of about 32 kilograms (70 lb) and allowing it to be stored in a space the size of a dishwasher.[4] Once in space, the large surface area of the solar sail would allow it to achieve a thrust of about 0.01 N—roughly the weight of a sugar packet.[5] To control its orientation, and via this its speed and direction, Sunjammer was to use gimballed vanes (each of which is itself a small solar sail) located at the tips of each of its 4 booms, instead of thrusters, completely eliminating the need for any propellant other than the rays of the Sun.[5]
In addition to being a demonstration craft, Sunjammer was to collect scientific data in its own right. With several instruments to detect various aspects of space weather, Sunjammer could have eventually become part of a larger network of solar sails studying the Sun, allowing for the creation of a more robust early-warning system for space weather.[2]
Mission
Prior to its cancellation, Sunjammer was slated for launch in January 2015 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, a slight delay from an earlier projection of November 2014. It was to launch as a secondary payload along with the primary DSCOVR Earth observation and space weather satellite.[2] Within two months of launch the spacecraft was to test various technologies, such as deployment, vector control via altitude vanes, and eventually reaching a location near the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrangian point.[4]
Payloads
Sunjammer was to carry two British space science payloads: the Solar Wind Analyser (SWAN) developed by the Mullard Space Science Laboratory of University College London,[6] and the MAGIC magnetometer developed by the Blackett Laboratory of Imperial College London.[7][8]
Sunjammer was to carry a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight payload of cremated remains.[9]
See also
- CubeSail
- CubeSail (UltraSail)
- IKAROS, a Japanese solar sail, launched in May 2010
- LightSail, a controlled solar sail CubeSat to launch in 2018
- NanoSail-D2, the successor to NanoSail-D, launched in November 2010
- Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, a solar sail CubeSat planned to launch in 2018
References
- ^ Clarke, Arthur C. "Short Stories". ArthurCClarke.net. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d Wall, Mike (June 13, 2013). "World's Largest Solar Sail to Launch in November 2014". Space.com. TechMediaNetwork. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
- ^ Leone, Dan (October 17, 2014). "NASA Nixes Sunjammer Mission, Cites Integration, Schedule Risk". spacenews.com.
- ^ a b c David, Leonard (January 31, 2013). "World's Largest Solar Sail to Launch in November 2014". Space.com. TechMediaNetwork. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
- ^ a b Brooke, Boen, ed. (December 16, 2011). "Solar Sail Demonstration (The Sunjammer Project)". Technology Demonstration Missions. NASA. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
- ^ Sunjammer team to present latest solar sail technology
- ^ Dr. Jonathan Eastwood, Imperial College London
- ^ Sunjammer spacecraft to 'sail' towards the sun - Telegraph
- ^ "SUNJAMMER MISSION PARTNERS ANNOUNCED for GIANT NASA SOLAR SAIL LAUNCH" (PDF). sunjammermission.com Press Release. June 4, 2013.[permanent dead link]
External links
- Sunjammer Solar Sail Mission Sunjammermission.com web site
- Sunjammer L'Garde Inc. Sunjammer page
- Solar Sail Demonstration (The Sunjammer Project) NASA Sunjammer Mission page
- The Sunjammer Solar Sail: Making Your Loved One Part of Space History Celestis Sunjammer page
- Sunjammer Space and Atmospheric Physics Group, Imperial College London