Episode 540: Planetary Society Deploys LightSail 2’s Solar Sail. What Does The Future Hold For Solar Sails?

Where you can travel in space depends on how much propellant you’ve got on board your rocket and how efficiently you can use it. But there’s a source of free propellant right here in the Solar System - the Sun - which is streaming out photons in all directions. You just need to catch them. And right now, the Planetary Society’s new LightSail 2 spacecraft is testing out just how well it’ll work. Light Sail 2 Photos: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-team-continues-tweaks-tests.html Episode on Breakthrough Starshot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FWcEtXgK2g&list=PLbJ42wpShvml6Eg22WjWAR-6QUufHFh2v&index=146 Episode on Project Dragonfly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=598UtgxFd1E&list=PLbJ42wpShvml6Eg22WjWAR-6QUufHFh2v&index=23 Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio What Fraser's Watching Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbJ42wpShvmkjd428BcHcCEVWOjv7cJ1G Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Support us at: http://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at: http://www.universetoday.com/ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Instagram - http://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / [email protected] Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - [email protected] References: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-maximum-speed-a-chemical-rocket-can-achieve http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-has-launched.html http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-team-continues-tweaks-tests.html https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2014-4435 https://www.nasa.gov/content/nea-scout https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2018/pdf/1406.pdf http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2017/20170925-solar-sail-dsg.htmlSupport Universe Today Podcast