NASA’s newest experimental spacecraft is tumbling in orbit after unfurling a new type of solar sail. The advanced technology is designed to capture solar radiation and generate momentum while in space, creating a new type of propulsion for spacecraft. Observations by scientists indicate that the craft is wobbling in orbit, and some have suggested that the tumble is expected and a part of the craft’s programmed movements so it can achieve a higher orbit.
The mission is to test the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) as it deployed a new type of solar sail. The idea is that pressure from the sun’s radiation captured by the sail could eventually allow a craft propelled by the technology to reach greater speeds for less energetic cost than current rocket-propelled spacecraft.
The sail is composed of a unique type of collapsable foil that unfolds to 860-square-feet (80 square meters). The sail was intricately folded inside the tiny craft, a small box the size of a microwave, named CubeSat. A complex series of booms unfold the sail, deploying it in space. The booms are made of a new material which is ultralight and can resist the intense damage induced by unshielded solar radiation.
Scientists claim the materials used are far more resistant to space as well as capable of capturing solar radiation and converting it into momentum better than previous attempts by private companies, Japan, and Russian scientists.
The ACS3 mission was launched back in April by Rocket Labs on one of their Electron Rockets. The launch occurred in New Zealand. CubeSat was then lodged in orbit roughly 600 miles (965 kilometers) above the planet’s surface until the sail was ready to deploy.
Technical problems delayed the sail’s deployment from August 26 to the 29th. But researchers were able to address the issue, resulting in the full deployment on August 29. Observers were then able to see the object increase and decrease in brightness as it moved across the sky.
NASA reported to the media that the craft is indeed spinning, and some observers claimed the craft is reorienting itself as part of a preprogrammed sequence to climb into higher orbit.
