NASA and Rocket Lab Launch Solar Sail Written 24 April 2024
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A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off Launch Complex-1 at Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand. | Credit: Rocket Lab/Trevor Mahlmann; NASA
The New Zealand Herald reports, “NASA has launched its new solar sail mission from Mahia Peninsula. Once at a Sun-synchronous orbit, about 1000 km above Earth, the spacecraft will deploy its sails and use the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, instead of rocket fuel. If the microwave oven-sized CubeSat is successfully deployed, the operation would be a precursor to larger-scale missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA said.”
Full Story (New Zealand Herald)