Eco Factor: Spacecraft designed to propel on sun’s rays.
The quest to conquer space has kept space researchers working on figuring out new ways to fuel their crafts for a longer duration. However, the technology is often limited by the amount of fuel necessary to power aircraft to distant locations. The Planetary Society has announced a breakthrough in solar sailing with the development of a spacecraft dubbed LightSail-1.
The spacecraft will be launched in 2010 and will be propelled solely by solar sails. LightSail-1 won’t carry a single drop of fuel and will travel through space using the energy contained within the sun’s rays. The craft features four triangle-shaped aluminized Mylar sails that capture the momentum of light emitted by the sun and use the energy to propel the craft further into space.
Weighing about 11 pounds, the LightSail-1 carries sails, which when opened span 6 meters across. The initial design will stay close to Earth, traveling only a few miles on the energy, after being deployed 500 miles above the surface of the planet. However, the developers are hoping that future missions will sail further.
Via: Inhabitat/New York Times
