Pasadena-Based Planetary Society and Bow-Tied CEO Bill Nye Score Big Win

The Pasadena-based Planetary Society and its bow-tied chief executive, Bill Nye “the science guy” scored a big win Sunday when its Light Sail spacecraft, launched into space in May, successfully deployed its solar sail after 19 days in orbit, making it possible for the minute spacecraft – the size of a loaf of bread – to continue to travel across space using the sun’s energy as a method of propulsion.

That success marks a big step towards the society’s goal of using solar sailing as an inexpensive method of space propulsion for low-cost space exploration.

The deployment marks a milestone for the mission to test Light Sail’s critical functions while in low-Earth orbit, in preparation for a second mission in 2016.

The Planetary Society, with headquarters at 85 South Grande Avenue in Pasadena, is a private non-profit organization founded 35 years ago and has members all around the globe dedicated to the exploration of the solar system, Near Earth objects, and the search for extra-terrestrial life.

Its Light Sail spacecraft is a miniature satellite, technically referred to as a CubeSat, intended for space research and typically uses commercially available components for its electronics. Light Sail was launched aboard a rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space station in Florida on May 20^th.

 

Nye said they first attempted to deploy the solar sail on the first orbital pass, but that failed because they couldn’t get signals to and from the spacecraft.

“We tried again on our next orbit – and it worked!”

In this first Light Sail mission, the spacecraft will not fly high enough above the Earth’s atmosphere for actual solar sailing, but the Society’s engineers hope to test the sail deployment sequence and record some pictures for later reference.

“We’ve learned a lot about perseverance on this test mission. Although it’s in inertial space, Light Sail has had had me on a rollercoaster,” said Nye. “I want to thank the engineering team; they’ve done fantastic work.”

More information about the deployment, including the images, will be downloaded and publicized in a few days, says the Planetary Society.

Atmospheric drag is expected to bring down the Light Sail spacecraft two to 10 days after deployment of the solar sail, but the time should be enough for engineers to fully check out the satellite’s systems.

Figure 2 Illustration from Planetary Society website shows how a solar sail (right image) will use the sun’s energy to propel the Light Sail spacecraft through space.