HONG KONG: LightSail finally propels in space Sunday, June 7, 2015 at 3:47 p.m. EDT after encountering previous major technical glitches. Bill Nye, the “Science Guy” and Chief Executive Officer of The Planetary Society, which heads the mission, joyfully announces on Twitter the deployment of the solar sail. The news on whether the set-off is a success will be established by Monday when re-contact with the spacecraft ensues. In the meantime, the organization encourages amateur space enthusiasts and astronomers to track and possibly communicate with the shining LightSail.
The Planetary Society was co-founded by popular astronomer Carl Sagan, who later developed the LightSail through private funding. Sagan envisioned a spaceship that can be propelled through great space distances using tiny photons, which compose the beams of light. Making use of light, such as that of the sun, will enable the spaceships to travel the vast space without using traditional chemical rockets.
The first attempt to launch the LightSail was on May 20, 2015. However, the sail failed to deliver even before deployment. The engineers working on the project looked into the different possibilities behind the shutting off of the spacecraft. They came up with rationales such as software glitch and battery-charging problems.
On Sunday, the LightSail was deployed off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, traveling from northwest to southeast. Data from the ground telemetry show that the spacecraft is halfway through the out-of-range-point. The cameras of the ship are turned on and the power supply looks stable according to the ground testings.
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