SoylentNews

Planetary Society's LightSail Has Finally Deployed After Multiple Setbacks

posted by CoolHand on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:20PM   
from the if-at-first-we-dont-succeed dept.

ticho writes:

We've previously covered the Lightsail projects tribulations... Now there is better news.

Washington Post reports:

Since launching on May 20, the Planetary Society's solar sail prototype -- called LightSail and inspired by an idea Carl Sagan championed decades ago -- hasn't exactly had smooth seas.

A glitch made the tiny satellite holding the folded sail unreachable from Earth for a time. Even after communications were re-established, it took days to get the spacecraft to do the one thing it was sent up to do -- deploy its sail, proving that a propulsion system thinner than human hair could be packed away and unfurled safely in space.

On June 7, the Planetary Society reports, the sail finally unfurled.

Original announcement straight from Planetary Society can be found here.

---

Original Submission

• In other news … In other news … (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:25PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 09 2015, @04:25PM (#194116)

  In other news, just after the light sail was deployed, someone switched off the light.

  Starting Score:	0		points
  Moderation		+1
  Funny=1, Total=1
  Extra 'Funny' Modifier		0
  Total Score:		1

• Bigger fish to fry: Bigger fish to fry: (Score: 2) by Hartree on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:38PM

  by Hartree (195) on Tuesday June 09 2015, @05:38PM (#194130)

  If someone can switch off the sun, I'm worrying about much more than the lightsail.

  Parent

  • Re:Bigger fish to fry: (Score: 2) by Anne Nonymous on Tuesday June 09 2015, @08:25PM

    by Anne Nonymous (712) on Tuesday June 09 2015, @08:25PM (#194249)

    Hey, it happens twice a day.

    Parent