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Sail Along with NASA’s Solar Sail Tech Demo in Real-Time Simulation – NASA Science

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Sail Along with NASA’s Solar Sail Tech Demo in Real-Time Simulation – NASA Science

The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, which launched in April 2024, and deployed its reflective sail in August, is currently orbiting approximately 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) above Earth and is frequently visible in the night sky to observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Fans of the spacecraft can look for the sail in the night sky using … Read more

Pushing the Limits of Sub-Kilowatt Electric Propulsion Technology to Enable Planetary Exploration and Commercial Mission Concepts – NASA Science

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Pushing the Limits of Sub-Kilowatt Electric Propulsion Technology to Enable Planetary Exploration and Commercial Mission Concepts – NASA Science

Planetary science missions using small spacecraft will be required to perform challenging propulsive maneuvers—such as achieving planetary escape velocities, orbit capture, and more—that require a velocity change (delta-v) capability well in excess of typical commercial needs and the current state-of-the-art. Therefore, the #1 enabling technology for these small spacecraft missions is an electric propulsion system … Read more