The Planetary Society's LightSail-1 solar sail. Credit: Rick Sternbach/The Planetary Society
PLANETARY SOCIETY PRESS RELEASE
NASA announced this week that the Planetary Society’s LightSail-1 solar sail mission is on their short list for upcoming launch opportunities. The missions selected are Cubesats destined for piggyback launches as part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.
“This is great news,†said Louis Friedman, Program Director for LightSail-1. “Our spacecraft will be ready this summer, and we are hoping for the earliest launch possible.â€
LightSail-1 is a three-unit Cubesat, which weighs 4.5 kg and measures only 10x10x30 cm. Cubesats are a type of nanosatellite that NASA and others launch as auxiliary payloads, “piggybacking†on missions with larger, conventional spacecraft. NASA has selected 20 (Cubesat) payloads, including LightSail-1, as well as payloads from government centers and universities.
“We are delighted that NASA has chosen our mission,†said Bill Nye, Executive Director of the Planetary Society. “Our spacecraft was built with donations from citizens all over the world. It’s the first solar sail spacecraft maneuverable enough to tack and increase its orbital energy while in Earth Orbit.â€
Several launch opportunities from government agencies and commercial companies have been identified as possibilities for LightSail-1, both in the U.S. and abroad. LightSail-1 is to demonstrate controlled solar sail flight with no force other than sunlight pressure propelling the spacecraft. The minimum desired altitude is 825 km.
â€Our launch requirements are a bit more difficult than typical Cubesats because we want to go to a high enough altitude so that our sail will feel no atmospheric effects; being manifested on NASA’s list will help our chances greatly,†said Friedman.
The launch of LightSail-1 is in cooperation with the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) through a no-exchange-of-funds Space Act Agreement the Society and ARC have made for nanosatellite development and educational activities.
LightSail-1 will break new ground as a fully capable nanosatellite with two cameras, on-board accelerometers, radio telemetry, an attitude control system, and six solar arrays for battery charging.
The spacecraft is being built by Stellar Exploration, Inc. of San Luis Obispo in cooperation with California Polytechnic University. The solar sail is 5.5×5.5 meters of 4.6 micron Mylar, with a novel motorized deployment mechanism invented specifically for this project. The sail booms are developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Reactions are beginning to come in concerning the President’s budget proposal for NASA. Highlights thus far:
Commercial Space Federation is very pleased
The Planetary Society’s Bill Nye is channeling Clara Peller (NOT in a good way)
Aerospace Industries Association is wondering where the “Sputnik moment” is in this budget
Statements are reproduced after the break. I’ll update this page as reactions come in. Check back regularly.
CSF
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation today welcomed the strong support for commercial spaceflight in the new NASA FY2012 proposed budget.
CSF President Bretton Alexander stated, “In this constrained fiscal environment, commercial spaceflight is more important than ever. NASA’s Commercial Crew program will result in significant savings to the US taxpayer, and will cut the amount of money the nation has been sending to Russia every year. Leveraging private investment is the only way NASA can make its dollars go farther in these times of belt-tightening.â€
Last year’s NASA Authorization Act identified commercial spaceflight as the primary means to access low Earth orbit and transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. The Commercial Crew program has been endorsed by a broad array of thought leaders, including over 25 former astronauts, members of the Columbia Accident Investigation board, over 14 Nobel Laureates, and leaders from across the political spectrum such as former Governor Bill Richardson and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
CSF Executive Director John Gedmark added, “NASA’s number one job is to safely keep America flying in space and eliminate our dependence on the Russians as quickly as possible. It’s because commercial spaceflight is the fastest way to end our reliance on Russia that robust funding for Commercial Crew is so critical. In addition, Commercial Crew will create thousands more private-sector jobs using a combination of government and private investment.â€
Gedmark concluded, “It’s time to unleash the innovation of the American private sector in space, and NASA’s new budget does exactly that. It’s the only way to ensure America’s leadership in space.â€
The Planetary Society
“Where’s the innovation?†asked Bill Nye, Executive Director of the Planetary Society. “How can NASA innovate when Congress insists on building a new heavy lift rocket based on old designs? Science has been flat-lined. Planetary Science has been cut. Earth science missions have been delayed – again.
“Missions to the outer planets won’t get off the ground when they’re only ‘studies.’ Mr. Bolden talked about ‘hard choices,’ but what can he do when NASA has not been given a real budget for this fiscal year? The hard choices are yet to be made.”
AIA
We are disappointed with the proposed fiscal year 2012 budget for NASA of $18.7 billion, which represents a cut of $750 million from the authorized level and a major drop of more than $6.2 billion from the fiscal year 2011 request over the next four years.
In his State of the Union address, the president challenged this nation to embrace our “Sputnik†moment and win the future. Yet the administration’s request for NASA fails to recognize the return on investment – both now and in the future – that our nation’s space program provides as we strive to innovate, educate and build an America of which we can be proud.
AIA understands the current difficult fiscal environment facing the entire U.S. government. However, the aerospace and defense industry is a true economic engine, employing more than 800,000 people across the country, supporting over two million middle class jobs and 30,000 suppliers from all 50 states. It is important that near-term cuts aren’t made to programs that affect our long-standing tradition of leading in space and impair our investment in the future.
1. Monday, January 9, 2012: 2-3:30 PM PST: We welcome back Dr. Louis Friedman. Dr. Friedman is the Executive Director Emeritus of the Planetary Society and is the Program Director for The Planetary Society LightSail program which focuses on solar sails.
2. Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 7-8:30 PM PST: We welcome back Dr. Bruce Cordell with updates to his work with Maslow Windows and the evidence supporting a new space development age. Visit his website for more information: http://21stcenturywaves.com.
3. Friday, January 13,2012: 9:30-11AM PST: We welcome Dr. Perry G. Ballard of the DOD Payloads Office, JSC. Dr. Ballard will be talking with us about secondary payload launch opportunities, student launches, cubesats and more.
4. Sunday, January 15, 2012, 12-1:30 PM PST: We welcome Kevin Forsyth on the Delta 2 history. Visit his excellent Delta 2 historical website at http://kevinforsyth.net/delta/vehicle.htm.
Thirty Percent for Science:
Planetary Society Calls for Increased Investment for the Future
The Planetary Society has called on the U.S. Administration to rebalance NASA’s portfolio of programs and missions so that Science is given 30 percent of the agency’s budget. “Science is the best place to invest in NASA,” Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye said, “In this era of constrained budgets, we must invest in areas with the greatest possible returns.”
The Society laid out its request in a letter to Jacob Lew, head of the Office of Management and Budget. (The letter was sent to Lew just before he became White House Chief of Staff and Jeffrey D. Zients was tapped to serve as acting director of OMB.)
“If NASA’s overall budget shrinks, we are concerned that the Science program will carry a disproportionate burden of any reduction, scaling back some of NASA’s most productive and important programs,” the letter states. “A healthy, robust NASA Science program, along with its attendant innovative technologies, will energize, engage, and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, educators, and the public.”
In recent years, NASA’s science programs have received between 24 and 28 percent of the agency’s budget, but financial pressures may force cuts to agency funding. An increase to 30 percent could allow NASA to keep alive a robust program of scientific exploration. Without such an increase, ambitious flagship missions, such as the Hubble Space Telescope and Cassini, may become things of the past.
On Commercial Crew Program: Today, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomed the strong continued support for commercial spaceflight in the new NASA FY2013 budget. Congress and the Administration have consistently identified commercial providers as the most cost-effective and reliable source for routine flights to low-Earth orbit, including transportation of cargo and NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. As recognized by a wide range of industry executives, scientists, and former NASA astronauts, among others, the Commercial Crew program is the quickest path to return Americans to orbit on American rockets.
On the Space Technology Program: Today, the Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomed the strong support for NASA’s Space Technology program in the Fiscal Year 2013 proposed budget. The Space Technology program is NASA’s investment in the future; by developing technologies to improve all aspects of NASA’s operations, it ensures that NASA stays at the forefront of space exploration and scientific research. The technologies it develops will also improve quality of life on Earth, sustain America’s global economic competitiveness, enable the NASA missions of the future and create high-tech jobs across the country.
The U.S. Administration is proposing a budget for Fiscal Year 2013 that would force NASA to walk away from planned missions to Mars, delay for decades any flagship missions to the outer planets, and radically slow the pace of scientific discovery, including the search for life on other worlds.
NASA’s planetary science program is being singled out for drastic cuts, with its budget dropping by 20 percent, from $1.5 billion this year to $1.2 billion next year. The steep reductions will continue for at least the next five years — if the Administration’s proposal is not changed. This would strike at the heart of one of NASA’s most productive and successful programs over the past decade.
While falling short of the recommended levels needed for a “space program worthy of a great nation” as proposed by the Augustine Committee in 2009, the Obama administration’s fiscal year 2013 budget plan for NASA does spare the agency from significant overall cuts. The National Space Society (NSS), with its goals of creating a spacefaring civilization and of using the resources of space for the betterment of life on Earth, is guardedly optimistic about portions of the budget while calling for increased support for others.
“This budget for NASA reflects the realities we’re unfortunately now facing: ‘flat is the new up,’ and, while continuing to advocate for increased funding, we’ll have to work hard with what we have to achieve our goals,” said NSS Executive Director Paul E. Damphousse. “That being said, we will push the Administration, Congress, and NASA to meet these goals. The programs of record must come in on schedule and on budget; support for commercial spaceflight must be unwavering; and our Mars program, while undergoing restructuring, must still strive to make upcoming launch windows with relevant missions.”
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
“Despite repeated assurances from NASA and White House officials that the SLS and Orion are ‘key elements of our future strategy for human space exploration’, vehicle development for the heavy lift SLS rocket and the Orion capsule is cut by hundreds of millions of dollars. These reductions will slow the development of the SLS and the Orion crew vehicle, making it impossible for them to provide backup capability for supporting the space station. The Administration remains insistent on cutting SLS and Orion to pay for commercial crew rather than accommodating both.
“I will once again work with my colleagues in the Congress to ensure NASA receives the funding, consistent with law passed by Congress and signed by the President, needed to preserve our leadership in space and open the doors to future exploration and missions of discovery.”
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
(Released Feb. 9, 2012)
“Today I met with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to express my dismay over widespread reports that NASA’s latest budget proposes to dramatically reduce the planetary science program, and with it, ground breaking missions to Mars and outer planetary bodies like Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, and to inform him of my vehement opposition to such a move.
“America’s unique expertise in designing and flying deep-space missions is a priceless national asset and the Mars program, one of our nation’s scientific crown jewels, has been a spectacular success that has pushed the boundaries of human understanding and technological innovation, while also boosting American prestige worldwide and driving our children to pursue science and engineering degrees in college.
“As I told the Administrator during our meeting, I oppose these ill-considered cuts and I will do everything in my power to restore the Mars budget and to ensure American leadership in space exploration.”
Illustration of an asteroid retrieval spacecraft in the process of capturing a 7-m, 500-ton asteroid. (Image Credit: Rick Sternbach / KISS)
By Douglas Messier Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
Media reports are indicating that President Barack Obama’s budget will propose that NASA spend $105 million next year to begin a program to capture an asteroid and bring it back to a Lagrangian point near Earth where astronauts would be able to visit it using the Orion spacecraft beginning in 2021.
As proposed, the asteroid mission would begin with research — $78 million in 2014 to begin design work on the robotic spacecraft that would capture the asteroid, and an additional $27 million to begin searching the cosmos for an asteroid to grab. The ideal rock would be 20 to 30 feet in diameter and weigh 500 tons….
“If the American people are excited about it, they [lawmakers] will be, too,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. — adding that he thinks the public is “fascinated” with asteroids thanks to disaster movies such as “Armageddon” and recent near-misses that real space rocks have had with Earth….
“You have to get over the first shock, and I’m worried editorial writers will be like: ‘Huh? You lost your mind,'” acknowledged Lou Friedman, who co-authored a 2012 report that suggested the idea. “But if you get into it, [the mission] is audacious as sending humans to the moon. I think it will restore confidence in America’s technological capability and NASA’s can-do spirit.”
Friedman was co-leader of an April 2012 report sponsored by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) that concluded it would be possible to return an asteroid weighing approximately 500 metric tons to high lunar orbit where it would be mined for resources by 2025.
The Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study was prepared for KISS, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). John Brophy of NASA JPL/Caltech and Fred Culick of Caltech were co-leaders of the study with Friedman. Participants included representatives of other NASA centers, various universities, institutes and private companies.
Two of the 34 study participants were Planetary Resources President and Chief Engineer Chris Lewicki and former astronaut Tom Jones, who is an adviser to the company. The start-up – which is backed by Google billionaires Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, Microsoft mogul Charles Simonyi, filmmaker James Cameron, and Ross Perot, Jr. – is focused on mining asteroids.
Asteroid return mission concept. Return flight time of 2 to 6 years depending on the asteroid mass. (Source: Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, KISS)
The study examined the possibility of launching an asteroid retrieval spacecraft aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle, which is already operational. The study calculated the “full life-cycle cost of an asteroid capture and return mission at ~$2.6B[illion].” That cost is likely low enough to the mission could be attractive to private companies like Planetary Resources, providing they can locate an asteroid with sufficient resources to make a profit.
Conceptual spacecraft in the cruise configuration with the capture mechanism deployed. (Source: Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, KISS)
Study participants said the mission is feasible and would fit in well with NASA’s long-term objectives for exploring beyond low Earth orbit.
The two major conclusions from the KISS study are: 1) that it appears feasible to identify, capture and return an entire ~7-m diameter, ~500,000-kg near-Earth asteroid to a high lunar orbit using technology that is or could be available in this decade, and 2) that such an endeavor may be essential technically and programmatically for the success of both near-term and long-term human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit….
“The proposed Asteroid Capture and Return mission would impact an impressive range of NASA interests including: the establishment of an accessible, high-value target in cislunar space; near-term operational experience with astronaut crews in the vicinity of an asteroid; a new synergy between robotic and human missions in which robotic spacecraft return resources for human exploitation and use in space; the potential to jump-start an entire industry based on in situ resource utilization; expansion of international cooperation in space; and planetary defense. It has the potential for cost effectively providing sufficient radiation shielding to protect astronauts from galactic cosmic rays and to provide the propellant necessary to transport the resulting shielded habitats. It would endow NASA and its partners with a new capability in deep space that hasn’t been seen since Apollo. Ever since the completion of the cold-war-based Apollo program there has been no over-arching geo-political rationale for the nation’s space ventures. Retrieving an asteroid for human exploration and exploitation would provide a new rationale for global achievement and inspiration. For the first time humanity would begin modification of the heavens for its benefit.
Below are the report’s Executive Summary and Conclusions sections, which provides a good overview of the study. You can also read the full report.
Conceptual ACR spacecraft in the stowed configuration. (Source: Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, KISS)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report describes the results of a study sponsored by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) to investigate the feasibility of identifying, robotically capturing, and returning an entire Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) to the vicinity of the Earth by the middle of the next decade. The KISS study was performed by people from Ames Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, Langley Research Center, the California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard University, the Naval Postgraduate School, University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at Santa Cruz, University of Southern California, Arkyd Astronautics, Inc., The Planetary Society, the B612 Foundation, and the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. The feasibility of an asteroid retrieval mission hinges on finding an overlap between the smallest NEAs that could be reasonably discovered and characterized and the largest NEAs that could be captured and transported in a reasonable flight time. This overlap appears to be centered on NEAs roughly 7 m in diameter corresponding to masses in the range of 250,000 kg to 1,000,000 kg. To put this in perspective, the Apollo program returned 382 kg of Moon rocks in six missions and the OSIRIS-REx mission proposes to return at least 60 grams of surface material from a NEA by 2023. The present study indicates that it would be possible to return a ~500,000-kg NEA to high lunar orbit by around 2025.
Bottom view of the conceptual ACR spacecraft showing the five 10-kW Hall thrusters and the RCS thruster clusters. (Source: Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, KISS)
The idea of exploiting the natural resources of asteroids dates back over a hundred years, but only now has the technology become available to make this idea a reality. The feasibility is enabled by three key developments: the ability to discover and characterize an adequate number of sufficiently small near-Earth asteroids for capture and return; the ability to implement sufficiently powerful solar electric propulsion systems to enable transportation of the captured NEA; and the proposed human presence in cislunar space in the 2020s enabling exploration and exploitation of the returned NEA.
Top view of the conceptual ACR spacecraft showing the instrument suite and capture mechanism prior to being deployed. (Source: Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, KISS)
Placing a 500-t asteroid in high lunar orbit would provide a unique, meaningful, and affordable destination for astronaut crews in the next decade. This disruptive capability would have a positive impact on a wide range of the nation’s human space exploration interests. It would provide a high-value target in cislunar space that would require a human presence to take full advantage of this new resource. It would offer an affordable path to providing operational experience with astronauts working around and with a NEA that could feed forward to much longer duration human missions to larger NEAs in deep space. It would provide an affordable path to meeting the nation’s goal of sending astronauts to a near-Earth object by 2025. It represents a new synergy between robotic and human missions in which robotic spacecraft retrieve significant quantities of valuable resources for exploitation by astronaut crews to enable human exploration farther out into the solar system. A key example of this is that water or other material extracted from a returned, volatile-rich NEA could be used to provide affordable shielding against galactic cosmic rays. The extracted water could also be used for propellant to transport the shielded habitat. These activities could jump-start an entire in situ resource utilization (ISRU) industry. The availability of a multi-hundred-ton asteroid in lunar orbit could also stimulate the expansion of international cooperation in space as agencies work together to determine how to sample and process this raw material. The capture, transportation, examination, and dissection of an entire NEA would provide valuable information for planetary defense activities that may someday have to deflect a much larger near-Earth object. Finally, placing a NEA in lunar orbit would provide a new capability for human exploration not seen since Apollo. Such an achievement has the potential to inspire a nation. It would be mankind’s first attempt at modifying the heavens to enable the permanent settlement of humans in space.
Conceptual spacecraft with solar arrays folded back to facilitate matching the asteroid’s spin state during the capture process. (Source: Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, KISS)
The report that follows outlines the observation campaign necessary to discover and characterize NEAs with the right combination of physical and orbital characteristics that make them attractive targets for return. It suggests that with the right ground-based observation campaign approximately five attractive targets per year could be discovered and adequately characterized. The report also provides a conceptual design of a flight system with the capability to rendezvous with a NEA in deep space, perform in situ characterization of the object and subsequently capture it, de-spin it, and transport it to lunar orbit in a total flight time of 6 to 10 years. The transportation capability would be enabled by a ~40-kW solar electric propulsion system with a specific impulse of 3,000 s. Significantly, the entire flight system could be launched to low-Earth orbit on a single Atlas V-class launch vehicle. With an initial mass to low-Earth orbit (IMLEO) of 18,000 kg, the subsequent delivery of a 500-t asteroid to lunar orbit represents a mass amplification factor of about 28-to-1. That is, 28 times the mass launched to LEO would be delivered to high lunar orbit, where it would be energetically in a favorable location to support human exploration beyond cislunar space. Longer flight times, higher power SEP systems, or a target asteroid in a particularly favorable orbit could increase the mass amplification factor from 28-to-1 to 70-to-1 or greater. The NASA GRC COMPASS team estimated the full life-cycle cost of an asteroid capture and return mission at ~$2.6B.
Conceptual flight system configuration before deployment of the capture mechanism showing the locations of the cameras on the solar array yokes used to verify proper deployment and subsequently to aid in the asteroid capture. (Source: Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, KISS)
CONCLUSIONS
The two major conclusions from the KISS study are: 1) that it appears feasible to identify, capture and return an entire ~7-m diameter, ~500,000-kg near-Earth asteroid to a high lunar orbit using technology that is or could be available in this decade, and 2) that such an endeavor may be essential technically and programmatically for the success of both near-term and long-term human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. One of the key challenges – the discovery and characterization of a sufficiently large number of small asteroids of the right type, size, spin state and orbital characteristics – could be addressed by a low-cost, ground-based observation campaign identified in the study. To be an attractive target for return the asteroid must be a C-type approximately 7 m in diameter, have a synodic period of approximately 10 years, and require a ∆V for return of less than ~200 m/s. Implementation of the observation campaign could enable the discovery of a few thousand small asteroids per year and the characterization of a fraction of these resulting in a likelihood of finding about five good targets per year that meet the criteria for return.
Notional NEA Human Mission Concept of Operations with Pre-deploy. (Sources: Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study, KISS)
Proof-of-concept trajectory analysis based on asteroid 2008 HU4 (which is approximately the right size, but of an unknown spectral type) suggest that a robotic spacecraft with a 40-kW solar electric propulsion system could return this asteroid to a high-lunar orbit in a total flight time of 6 to 10 years assuming the asteroid has a mass in the range of 250,000 to 1,000,000 kg (with the shorter flight times corresponding to the lower asteroid mass). Significantly, these proof-of-concept trajectories baseline a single Atlas V-class launch to low-Earth orbit.
The study also considered an alternative concept in which the spacecraft picks up a ~7-m diameter rock from the surface of a much larger asteroid (> 100-m diameter). The advantage of this approach is that asteroids 100-m in diameter or greater are much easier to discover and characterize. This advantage is somewhat offset by the added complexity of trying to pick up a large 7-m diameter rock from the surface, and the fact that there are far fewer 100-m class NEAs than smaller ones making it more difficult to find ones with the desired orbital characteristics. This mission approach would seek to return approximately the same mass of asteroid material – of order 500,000 kg – as the approach that returns an entire small NEA.
Conceptual Human NEA Mission Excursion Vehicle Using SEP System (Image Credit/Source: NASA / AMA, Inc.)
The proposed Asteroid Capture and Return mission would impact an impressive range of NASA interests including: the establishment of an accessible, high-value target in cislunar space; near-term operational experience with astronaut crews in the vicinity of an asteroid; a new synergy between robotic and human missions in which robotic spacecraft return resources for human exploitation and use in space; the potential to jump-start an entire industry based on in situ resource utilization; expansion of international cooperation in space; and planetary defense. It has the potential for cost effectively providing sufficient radiation shielding to protect astronauts from galactic cosmic rays and to provide the propellant necessary to transport the resulting shielded habitats. It would endow NASA and its partners with a new capability in deep space that hasn’t been seen since Apollo. Ever since the completion of the cold-war-based Apollo program there has been no over-arching geo-political rationale for the nation’s space ventures. Retrieving an asteroid for human exploration and exploitation would provide a new rationale for global achievement and inspiration. For the first time humanity would begin modification of the heavens for its benefit.
In this concept image, the robotic vehicle deploys an inflatable bag to envelop a free-flying small asteroid before redirecting it to a distant retrograde lunar orbit. (Credit: NASA)
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected 18 proposals for studies under the Asteroid Redirect Mission Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). These six-month studies will mature system concepts and key technologies and assess the feasibility of potential commercial partnerships to support the agency’s Asteroid Redirect Mission, a key part of the agency’s stepping stone path to send humans to Mars.
The agency is working on two concepts for the mission. The first concept would fully capture a very small asteroid in free space and the other would retrieve a boulder off of a much larger asteroid. Both concepts would redirect an asteroid mass less than 10 meters in size to orbit the moon. Astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft launched on the Space Launch System (SLS) would rendezvous with the captured asteroid mass in lunar orbit and collect samples for return to Earth.
The BAA solicited proposals for studies in five key areas: asteroid capture systems, rendezvous sensors, adapting commercial spacecraft for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle, partnerships for secondary payloads, and potential partnerships to enhance U.S. exploration activities in cis-lunar space in conjunction with the crewed mission. Proposals were selected in collaboration with NASA’s Space Technology and Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorates.
“With these system concept studies, we are taking the next steps to develop capabilities needed to send humans deeper into space than ever before, and ultimately to Mars, while testing new techniques to protect Earth from asteroids,” William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.
This conceptual image shows NASA’s Orion spacecraft approaching the robotic asteroid capture vehicle. The trip from Earth to the captured asteroid will take Orion and its two-person crew an estimated nine days. (Credit: NASA)
The BAA builds upon more than 400 ideas that were gathered from the community through a Request for Information issued in June 2013, and the synthesis of the most promising ideas in a two-part public workshop held in September and November 2013.
“By investing in these studies, NASA will gain valuable insight into affordable ways to perform the Asteroid Redirect Mission while also advancing technologies needed to drive future exploration missions,” said James Reuther, deputy associate administrator for Space Technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The total funding to be awarded for the selected six-month studies is approximately $4.9 million.
Four companies will conduct studies for an asteroid capture system:
Airborne Systems North America in Santa Ana, California: The “Asteroid Capture System” study will fabricate and test a proof-of-concept inflatable capture system.
Jacobs in Houston: “Asteroid Capture System Conceptual Study” that will test a subscale capture system using mechanically deployed booms.
Altius Space Machines in Louisville, Colorado: The “Kraken Asteroid Boulder Retrieval System” will test prototype grasping arms and innovative gripper concepts for capturing a boulder off the surface of an asteroid.
Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California: The “Autonomous Boulder Liberation Equipment” study will demonstrate robotic arms for placement and handling of pneumatic excavation tools, boulder jacking devices, and positive capture and restraint tools.
Rendezvous sensors will be the focus of two selected proposals:
Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado: “Rendezvous Sensor Suite Development” to upgrade a visible camera and LIDAR developed for Orion to meet Asteroid Redirect Mission automated rendezvous and docking requirements.
The Boeing Company in Huntington Beach, California: The “Asteroid Redirect Mission Rendezvous Sensors” activity leverages existing visible and infrared sensors and a 3D LIDAR to meet Asteroid Redirect Mission automated rendezvous and docking requirements.
Four studies will examine how to adapt commercial spacecraft for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle:
Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Denver: The “Adapting Commercial Spacecraft for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle” study will define system concepts for a Solar Electric Propulsion Module based on an existing commercial spacecraft bus and NASA Hall thrusters.
ExoTerra Resource in Littleton, Colorado: The “Multipurpose SEP Module for ARM and Beyond” study will define concepts for an extensible multipurpose Solar Electric Propulsion module designed for launch on Falcon 9.
The Boeing Company in Huntington Beach, California: The “Adapting Commercial Spacecraft for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle” study will define and analyze variants of an existing commercial spacecraft with NASA-furnished solar arrays and Hall thrusters.
Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, California: The “Adapting Commercial Spacecraft for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle” study will define system concepts that leverage an existing high-power commercial satellite bus to reduce costs.
Partnerships for secondary payloads will be the focus of five studies:
The Planetary Society in Pasadena, California: “LIFE on ARM: Accommodating the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment (LIFE) on the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM)” whose small passive payload on the Asteroid Retrieval Vehicle would transport extremophiles through deep space and return them to Earth to test panspermia and astrobiology.
Planetary Resources Development Corp. in Redmond, Washington: The “Arkyd Spacecraft Collaboration with NASA’s Asteroid Initiative” study will determine how three classes of small, low-cost spacecraft being developed by Planetary Resources could be modified to enhance NASA’s planned asteroid missions.
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland: “Planetary Object Geophysical Observer (POGO),” a secondary payload that is a hopper to be dropped on the asteroid surface by the Asteroid Retrieval Vehicle to measure elemental composition of asteroid regolith at multiple locations.
Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corp. in Pasadena, California: “Shotgun,” a secondary payload that would deploy multiple small kinetic impactors from the Asteroid Retrieval Vehicle to characterize asteroid regolith.
Deep Space Industries in Houston: “Secondary Spacecraft in Support of ARM,” which will assess three spacecraft types being developed by DSI for compatibility with the ARV or launch on SLS, and examine public-private partnership approaches.
Three studies will address potential partnerships to enhance U.S. exploration activities in cis-lunar space in conjunction with the crewed mission:
Honeybee Robotics Spacecraft Mechanisms Corp. in Pasadena, California: The “NanoDrill and Caching System” study will develop concepts for drilling tools and sample caching systems that could be used by astronauts during a spacewalk on the asteroid.
Deep Space Industries in Houston: The “Industry Funded Participation in the Asteroid Initiative” study will analyze the economic fundamentals of a commercially oriented Asteroid Initiative and develop figures of merit that are relevant to commercial needs. Potential demonstrations of in-situ resource utilization will also be assessed.
Planetary Resources Development Corp. in Redmond, Washington: The “Planetary Resources ISRU Partnership with NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission” study will provide the commercial perspective on the challenges and opportunities that both government and businesses will face in partnering towards exploration and exploitation of space resources.
The Planetary Society’s LightSail-1 solar sailing spacecraft is scheduled to ride a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to orbit in 2016 with its parent satellite, Prox-1. (Credit: Josh Spradling / The Planetary Society)
PASADENA, Calif. (Planetary Society PR) — The Planetary Society, the world’s largest and most influential space interest group, announces that its LightSail solar sail spacecraft will reach space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch in 2016. The announcement was made during a live webcast on July 9th.
“It’s fantastic that at last we have a launch date for this pioneering mission,” said Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye The Science Guy. “When I was in engineering school, I read the book about solar sailing by my predecessor, Society co-founder Louis Friedman. But the dream of sailing on light alone goes back much further.”
The Planetary Society also has a long history of solar sail activity. In June of 2005 the Society attempted to launch Cosmos 1, which would have been the first solar sail in space. The failure of a Russian booster doomed that effort, but the Society never gave up the dream of sailing the cosmos on the gentle yet constant pressure exerted by sunlight. Solar sailing promises tremendous advantages over traditional chemical rockets. There is no need to carry fuel for complex rocket engines, as the Sun provides an endless source of energy for propulsion. Solar sailing and related techniques have been called the only practical way to reach other stars.
While there have been other solar sail missions in the last decade—notably Japan’s IKAROS—none have attempted what LightSail will. Begin with the fact that it is the first to be entirely funded by Planetary Society members and other citizen supporters. Technologies developed for LightSail may enable other small, interplanetary spacecraft to achieve success. The creation and launch of CubeSats is within reach of universities and other organizations that could once only dream of flying their own missions.
CubeSats utilize a standard design based on 10-centimeter (about 4-inch) cubes. LightSail is three cubes, or just 30 centimeters long. Tucked inside this tiny package are four ultra-thin Mylar sails that will be deployed a few weeks after orbital insertion. These brilliantly reflective wings will expand to 32 square meters (344 square feet), making LightSail easily visible to naked eye observers on Earth.
LightSail will reach Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) stored inside another innovative spacecraft: Prox-1. Prox-1 has been developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology to demonstrate new technologies enabling two spacecraft to work in close proximity. After ejecting LightSail, the largely student-built Prox-1 will track and image LightSail, including the sail deployment.
Carrying Prox-1 and LightSail to MEO will be the new Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket ever built by SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, and the largest since the Saturn V that delivered Apollo astronauts to the Moon.
A test flight of LightSail on a smaller rocket may also be conducted in 2015. This flight will only reach low earth orbit (LEO), where there is still too much atmosphere for a solar sail to function. It will nevertheless allow the LightSail team to check the operation of vital systems in the extreme environment of space. That team includes faculty and students at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
Solar sailing and space fans around the world learned of and celebrated the LightSail launch plans in a live, July 9th webcast at KPCC/Southern California Public Radio’s Crawford Family Forum in Pasadena, California. The program featured a distinguished panel that includes Bill Nye, LightSail Project Manager Doug Stetson, and famed science fiction author David Brin.
About the Planetary Society
The Planetary Society has inspired millions of people to explore other worlds and seek other life. Today, its international membership makes the non-governmental Planetary Society the largest space interest group in the world. Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded the Planetary Society in 1980. Bill Nye, a long time member of the Planetary Society’s Board, serves as CEO.
The Planetary Society’s LightSail-1 solar sailing spacecraft is scheduled to ride a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to orbit in 2016 with its parent satellite, Prox-1. (Credit: Josh Spradling / The Planetary Society)
PASADENA, CA (Planetary Society PR) – The Planetary Society today announced the first of its LightSail spacecraft will embark on a May 2015 test flight. Funded entirely by private citizens, the solar sail satellite will hitch a ride to space aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will test LightSail’s critical functions, a precursor to a second mission slated for 2016. That second flight will mark the first controlled, Earth-orbit solar sail flight and ride along with the first operational launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.
“There’s an old saying in aerospace, ‘One test is worth a thousand expert opinions.’ After six years of development, we’re ready at last to see how LightSail flies,” said Bill Nye (The Science Guy), CEO at The Planetary Society.
“LightSail is technically wonderful, but it’s also wonderfully romantic. We’ll sail on sunbeams,” added Nye. “But wait, there’s more: this unique, remarkable spacecraft is funded entirely by private citizens, people who think spaceflight is cool.”
Solar sailing works by using sunlight for propulsion. When solar photons strike LightSail’s reflective Mylar® sails, their momentum is transferred to the spacecraft, gradually accelerating it through space. While the push from photons is miniscule, it is continuous and unlimited. Solar sails can eventually reach greater speeds than those obtained from chemical rockets. LightSail consists of four identical triangular sails attached to four 4-meter booms, resulting in a square solar sail when fully deployed.
The 2015 test flight will not carry the spacecraft high enough to escape Earth’s atmospheric drag, and will thus not demonstrate controlled solar sailing. Once in orbit, the spacecraft will go through a checkout and testing period of about four weeks before deploying its solar sails. After the sails unfurl, LightSail will test its attitude control system and study the behavior of the sails for a few days before it is pulled back into the planet’s atmosphere. Key images and data on the spacecraft’s performance will be sent to ground stations at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Georgia Tech.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Hayden Planetarium director and Planetary Society board of directors member, added, “With the expected launch of LightSail — a craft propelled among the stars on the pressure of light itself — the expanse of space becomes a literal analogue to the open seas. If space is tomorrow’s ocean, then Earth’s surface is its shoreline.”
LightSail is packaged into a small spacecraft called a CubeSat. CubeSats have made low-cost space missions a reality for universities and research groups. However, providing propulsion for these tiny satellites has been a major challenge. LightSail will demonstrate the viability of solar sailing for CubeSats. The spacecraft was designed by Stellar Exploration, Inc., in San Luis Obispo, Calif. LightSail’s lead contractor for integration and testing is Pasadena, Calif.-based Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation, a space avionics and sensor systems firm best known for its popular RocketCam™ family of video systems used on rockets and spacecraft.
“Starting with a clever ‘3U’ CubeSat design from Stellar Exploration, a small team at Ecliptic was tasked a year ago with completing the final integration and testing of this first LightSail spacecraft,” said Rex Ridenoure, CEO of Ecliptic. “We experienced several design, hardware, software and testing issues along the way, but thanks to excellent technical support from Stellar Exploration, Boreal Space, Half Band Technologies, Cal Poly, Georgia Tech and others, we surmounted them all and succeeded in securing approval to launch.”
The Planetary Society’s second LightSail spacecraft is scheduled to fly in 2016. This mission will build on the results of the test flight to conduct a full demonstration of solar sailing in Earth orbit. LightSail will be packaged inside a spacecraft called Prox-1 built by students at Georgia Tech. The spacecraft duo will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to an orbit of about 720 kilometers (450 miles).
The Planetary Society’s solar sailing involvement was started by Society co-founder Louis Friedman more than a decade ago. The LightSail project is managed by Doug Stetson, founder and principal partner of the Space Science and Exploration Consulting Group.
“LightSail is truly ‘the people’s satellite.’ Thanks to our members, the dream of citizen supported solar sailing will become a reality; the vision goes back to our founders, Lou Friedman, Bruce Murray, and Carl Sagan. We encourage space fans worldwide to join us on LightSail’s journey. Together we can change the world.” Nye concluded.
Celebrating 35 years, The Planetary Society has inspired millions of people to explore other worlds and seek other life. With the mission to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration, its international membership makes the non-governmental Planetary Society the largest space interest group in the world. Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded the Planetary Society in 1980. Bill Nye, a longtime member of the Planetary Society’s Board, serves as CEO.
The Planetary Society’s LightSail-1 solar sailing spacecraft is scheduled to ride a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to orbit in 2016 with its parent satellite, Prox-1. (Credit: Josh Spradling / The Planetary Society)
PASADENA, Calif., March 9, 2015 (Planetary Society PR) – The Planetary Society’s privately funded LightSail spacecraft has arrived in Cape Canaveral, Fla., where it will be integrated with an Atlas V rocket scheduled to launch no earlier than May 6. The spacecraft is part of a secondary payload dubbed ULTRASat, which will fly aboard the U.S. Air Force mission AFSPC-5.
Bill Nye (The Science Guy), CEO at The Planetary Society, issued the following statement:
Our LightSail cubesat passed every one of its tests and has been loaded into its launcher mechanism. I’m naturally happy and excited, but I admit, a bit nervous. We’ve been working to get a solar sail into space since I joined The Planetary Society Board in 1997. It’s quite a milestone. Deep breath, no turning back now, this baby’s on its own now. Here we go…
For complete coverage of the LightSail test flight, as well as the second LightSail mission scheduled for 2016, visit sail.planetary.org.
Celebrating 35 years, The Planetary Society has inspired millions of people to explore other worlds and seek other life. With the mission to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration, its international membership makes the non-governmental Planetary Society the largest space interest group in the world. Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded the Planetary Society in 1980. Bill Nye, a longtime member of the Planetary Society’s Board, serves as CEO.
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., May 20, 2015 (ULA PR) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket successfully launched the Air Force Space Command 5 (AFSPC-5) satellite for the U.S. Air Force at 11:05 a.m. EDT today from Space Launch Complex-41.The rocket carried the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle or OTV, a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the U.S. Air Force.
“ULA is honored to launch this unique spacecraft for the U.S Air Force. Congratulations to the Air Force and all of our mission partners on today’s successful launch! The seamless integration between the Air Force, Boeing, and the entire mission team culminated in today’s successful launch of the AFSPC-5 mission” said Jim Sponnick, ULA vice president, Atlas and Delta Programs.
This Atlas V mission also includes the Aft Bulkhead Carrier (ABC) carrying the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO’s) Ultra Lightweight Technology and Research Auxiliary Satellite (ULTRASat). ULTRASat is composed of 10 CubeSats managed by the NRO and NASA.
This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V 501 configuration Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) , which includes a 5.4-meter-diameter payload fairing. The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine, and the Centaur upper stage was powered by the Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C-1 engine. This was ULA’s sixth launch of the 501 configuration, and ULA’s 54th mission to launch on an Atlas V rocket.
ULA’s next launch is the Atlas V GPS IIF-10 mission for the U. S. Air Force, scheduled for July 15 from Space Launch Complex-41 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
The EELV program was established by the United States Air Force to provide assured access to space for Department of Defense and other government payloads. The commercially developed EELV program supports the full range of government mission requirements, while delivering on schedule and providing significant cost savings over the heritage launch systems.
With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the nation’s most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 90 satellites to orbit that provide critical capabilities for troops in the field, aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, enable personal device-based GPS navigation and unlock the mysteries of our solar system.
The Planetary Society’s LightSail-1 solar sailing spacecraft is scheduled to ride a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to orbit in 2016 with its parent satellite, Prox-1. (Credit: Josh Spradling / The Planetary Society)
WASHINGTON, DC (NASA PR) — With help from NASA, a small research satellite to test technology for in-space solar propulsion launched into space Wednesday aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, as part of the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.
The Atlas V sent the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane on its fourth mission, which also is carrying NASA’s Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS) investigation that will expose about 100 different materials samples to the space environment for more than 200 days.
The Planetary Society’s LightSail satellite is a technology demonstration for using solar propulsion on CubeSats, a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites. Using the momentum transferred from solar photons as they strike a large, thin, reflective sail would allow a spacecraft to accelerate continuously using only the sun’s energy. NASA is considering the use of solar sails on future exploration mission secondary payloads, and data from this mission will advance understanding of this form of propulsion.
This first LightSail mission specifically is designed to test the spacecraft’s critical systems, including the deployment sequence for the Mylar solar sail, which measures 32 square meters (344 square feet). The Planetary Society is planning a second, full solar sailing demonstration flight for 2016.
NASA selected LightSail as part of the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, which provides opportunities for small satellites to fly as auxiliary payloads on planned missions. It was assigned to a launch as part of as the 11th installment of the Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) mission.
The upper stage of the Atlas V included the National Reconnaissance Office’s third auxiliary mission to launch CubeSats. The Ultra Lightweight Technology and Research Auxiliary Satellite (ULTRASat) carried 10 CubeSats — including LightSail — from five organizations. It was made possible through agreements between NASA, the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center and the National Reconnaissance Office to work together on CubeSat integration and launch opportunities.
The cube-shaped satellites measure about four inches on each side, have a volume of about one quart and weigh less than three pounds each. LightSail consists of three CubeSats bundled together. Individual CubeSat research projects may address science, exploration, technology development or education. During the next month, the LightSail team will receive data from the satellite in space. As part of its agreement with NASA, the Planetary Society will provide the agency a report on outcomes and scientific findings.
Since its inception in 2010, the CubeSat Launch Initiative has selected 110 CubeSats primarily from educational and government institutions around the United States. NASA will announce the next call for proposals in August 2015.
PASADENA, Calif., June 7, 2015 (Planetary Society PR) — After 19 days on orbit, data indicate that The Planetary Society’s LightSail™ spacecraft deployed its Mylar® solar sail in space. More information will be downloaded, analyzed and publicized in days to come, including possible images. A post-deployment press conference will occur following an initial data analysis period.
Today’s deployment marked a milestone for the mission to test LightSail’s critical functions in low-Earth orbit, a precursor to a second mission set for 2016. Bill Nye (The Science Guy®), CEO at The Planetary Society, celebrated the landmark and stated:
“We couldn’t get signals to and from our LightSail on the first orbital pass, so we tried again on our next orbit— and it worked! We’ve learned a lot about perseverance on this test mission. Although it’s in inertial space, LightSail has had me on a roller coaster. I want to thank the engineering team; they’ve done fantastic work. I especially want to thank our supporters and members, who made this success possible. We are advancing space science and exploration. This mission is part of our mission.”
The Planetary Society’s solar sailing involvement was started by Society co-founder Louis Friedman more than a decade ago. The spacecraft was designed by Stellar Exploration, Inc., in San Luis Obispo, Calif. LightSail’s lead contractor for integration and testing is Pasadena, Calif.-based Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation, a space avionics and sensor systems firm best known for its popular RocketCam™ family of video systems used on rockets and spacecraft. The spacecraft has ground stations at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo and Georgia Tech. The LightSail project is managed by Doug Stetson, founder and principal partner of the Space Science and Exploration Consulting Group. Boreal Space and Half-Band Technologies are contractors to Ecliptic.
Celebrating 35 years, The Planetary Society has inspired millions of people to explore other worlds and seek other life. With the mission to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration, its international membership makes the non-governmental Planetary Society the largest space interest group in the world. Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded the Planetary Society in 1980. Bill Nye, a longtime member of the Planetary Society’s Board, serves as CEO.
LightSail spacecraft with solar sail deployed. (Credit: The Planetary Society)
LOGAN, UT (Planetary Society PR) — At the 29th annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)/Utah State University (USU) Conference on Small Satellites, The Planetary Society’s citizen-funded LightSail spacecraft test mission (LightSail-A) was named Mission of the Year by the AIAA Small Satellite Technical Committee. Eleven standout small satellite projects from around the world were nominated by a committee of experts. A voting period during the conference engaged the engineering and scientific community and the public.
Bill Nye (The Science Guy®), CEO at The Planetary Society, celebrated the news:
“Wow… we are delighted that LightSail was named Mission of the Year. This is great news for people around the world who supported our citizen-funded spacecraft test flight. When you look down that list of CubeSats that flew this year, you can see we were in pretty impressive company. Each of these missions is part of new era of democratized spaceflight. We are honored that LightSail has inspired the CubeSat community, and we welcome all citizens of Earth to join us on our next LightSail flight.”
The 29th AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites goal was to explore the current state and future possibilities within the critical systems that support mission success. With the theme, “All Systems Go! Critical Pieces for Mission Success,” the Conference on Small Satellites highlighted that effective small satellite missions require success across multiple systems. These systems include: launch, satellite, payload, ground network, mission operations and data analysis. Over the past few decades, satellite mission and systems developers have made critical advancements in each of these areas. These advancements have proven the utility of small satellite missions in military, civilian, and commercial endeavors.
Rex Ridenoure, CEO of Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation, accepted the Mission of the Year Award on behalf of the LightSail-A team, many of whom were also attending the conference. “The small satellite community is one of the most dynamic, innovative and exciting sectors in the global space industry today, and is driving some of the most important changes and trends we see in the news. We are thrilled that LightSail-A has inspired this community and the public to such a degree and are honored to be recognized among such outstanding missions.”
The LightSail test mission spacecraft was originally designed and built by Stellar Exploration Inc. in San Luis Obispo, California. Important flight system modifications, software, and integration and testing were provided by Pasadena California-based Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation (Ecliptic), a space avionics and sensor systems firm best known for its popular RocketCam family of video systems used on rockets and spacecraft. Boreal Space of Mountain View, California, serves as a subcontractor to Ecliptic. Mission analysis, mission operations, and ground systems were provided by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
The LightSail-A test mission program was managed by Doug Stetson, president of the Space Science and Exploration Consulting Group of Pasadena, California. He recently transitioned the LightSail Program Manager role to Dr. Bruce Betts, director of science and technology at The Planetary Society. Dr. David Spencer, Professor of the Practice at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Aerospace Engineering and Director for the Center for Space Systems, is project manager for the LightSail program’s next mission (LightSail-B).
AIAA is the largest aerospace professional society in the world, serving a diverse range of more than 30,000 individual members from 88 countries, and 95 corporate members. AIAA members help make the world safer, more connected, more accessible, and more prosperous.
Celebrating 35 years, The Planetary Society has inspired millions of people to explore other worlds and seek other life. With the mission to empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration, its international membership makes the non-governmental Planetary Society the largest space interest group in the world. Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded the Planetary Society in 1980. Bill Nye, a longtime member of the Planetary Society’s Board, serves as CEO.
For complete coverage of the LightSail test flight, as well as the second LightSail mission scheduled for 2016, visit sail.planetary.org.
PASADENA, Calif., February 11, 2016 (Planetary Society PR) — In response to U.S. President Obama’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Budget Request, The Planetary Society issued the following statements from Bill Nye, CEO, and Casey Dreier, director of space policy:
“The President’s recent budget request is catching up with recent congressional actions in support of NASA. It’s especially good to see the increases for space science. But we can do more. The nation asks so much of NASA, and NASA delivers. NASA is maintaining operations aboard the space station, while it’s actively exploring the Solar System and distant reaches of the cosmos—all while planning missions to send humans to Mars. The Planetary Society urges Congress to continue their support of NASA in 2017 by allowing its budget to increase above inflation. The world is in love with space exploration, and NASA is the best brand the United States has. With the right resources, NASA can lead the way deeper into space.”
– Bill Nye, CEO, The Planetary Society
“While it is satisfying to see the White House increase its request for NASA’s Planetary Science Division to $1.52 billion, it still represents a cut to the program’s current funding level. The Planetary Society believes that all of NASA’s space science divisions deserve support, even Planetary Science, which has now experienced five proposed budget cuts in five years. After the stunning successes of last year’s Pluto flyby, the exploration of Ceres, and the confirmation of flowing water on Mars, the nation should not back away from planetary exploration now.
“We urge Congress to continue their trend of enacting NASA budgets above the President’s request. Using the FY 2016 congressional budget as a baseline going forward would help sustain NASA as the world leader in human spaceflight, robotic exploration, space science, aeronautics, and fundamental scientific research.”
– Casey Dreier, director of space policy, The Planetary Society
Artist’s concept of LightSail 2 above Earth. (Credit: Josh Spradling / The Planetary Society)
LightSail 2 Mission Update The Planetary Society
The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft is almost ready to go solar sailing.
Mission officials today cleared the spacecraft for a possible sail
deployment attempt on Tuesday, 23 July 2019, during a ground station
pass that starts at roughly 11:22 PDT (18:22 UTC). A backup pass is
available the following orbit starting at 13:07 PDT (20:07 UTC). These
times may change slightly as new orbit predictions become available.
Live sail deployment coverage will be available at planetary.org/live.
A video and audio stream from mission control, located at Cal Poly San
Luis Obispo in California, will be available during ground station
passes. Rolling updates will also be posted on the page for context.
LUXEMBOURG, 27 May 2021 (Asteroid Foundation PR) — The Asteroid Foundation will launch Asteroid Day TV on 1 June 2021 with digital video content from Discovery Science, TED, IMAX, BBC, CNN, The Planetary Society, the European Space Agency (ESA), independent filmmakers and other educational content producers. The programming will cover themes such as asteroid discovery, planetary defense, space resources, asteroid exploration missions and more.
Asteroid Day is an official United Nations’ day of global awareness about the opportunities and challenges that asteroids present. Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Dr Brian May of the rock group Queen; Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart; Filmmaker Grig Richters; and B612 Foundation President Danica Remy to educate the public about the importance of asteroids in our history, the role they play in the solar system and how they could affect our future.
Asteroid Day TV
Asteroid Day TVwill stream through the month of June, culminating with Asteroid Day LIVE on 30 June. This year’s Asteroid Day LIVE theme explores 25 years of dedicated asteroid missions, highlighting the anniversary of the 1996 NEAR-Shoemaker launch, and looks to exciting future discoveries. Read more about this year’s programme and see the confirmed LIVE participants on asteroidday.org. The Asteroid Day TV schedule will be updated weekly with new programme additions.
Twitch is Asteroid Day’s premiere online partner and will deliver Asteroid Day TV all month long via their global platform. In addition, Twitch’s science enthusiasts/educators DeejayKnight, EJ_SA, John “Das” Galloway, Dr Pamela Gay and the CosmoQuest crew, Scott Manley, Skylias, and others will host special live streams on Twitch during the month leading up to Asteroid Day on 30 June. The public can follow all these channels on Twitch to be notified of upcoming programs during June.
Asteroid Day’s Luxembourg-based partners Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE) and SES, the leader in global content connectivity solutions, will make Asteroid Day TV available for millions to tune in via SES satellite.
Asteroid Day is held on 30 June each year to mark the date of Earth’s largest asteroid impact in recorded history, the Siberia Tunguska event. Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Dr Brian May of the rock group Queen; Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart; Filmmaker Grig Richters; and B612 Foundation President Danica Remy, to educate the public about the importance of asteroids in our history, and the role they play in the solar system. In 2016, prompted by the leadership of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), the United Nations declared Asteroid Day to be a global day of education to raise awareness and promote knowledge in the general public about asteroids. Thousands of independently-organised events have taken place around the globe, encompassing 125 of the world’s 195 countries.
Asteroid Foundation was formed in 2017 with a mission to promote worldwide awareness of asteroid opportunities and challenges, and the emerging space economy. The Asteroid Foundation undertakes programmes and activities to support scientists, engineers and students around the world providing free educational tools, newsletters, original articles and resources year round. Annually, the Foundation organizes events surrounding International Asteroid Day, a United Nations recognized day of education and awareness observed on 30 June. Visit their Flickr account to see pictures from previous events. https://asteroidfoundation.org/
PASADENA, Calif. (Planetary Society PR) — The Planetary Society, the world’s largest and most influential space interest group, announces that its LightSail solar sail spacecraft will reach space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch in 2016. The announcement was made during a live webcast on July 9th. “It’s fantastic that at last we have a launch date for this pioneering mission,” said Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye The Science Guy. […]
PASADENA, CA (Planetary Society PR) – The Planetary Society today announced the first of its LightSail spacecraft will embark on a May 2015 test flight. Funded entirely by private citizens, the solar sail satellite will hitch a ride to space aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will test LightSail’s critical functions, a precursor to a second mission slated for 2016. That […]
PASADENA, Calif., March 9, 2015 (Planetary Society PR) – The Planetary Society’s privately funded LightSail spacecraft has arrived in Cape Canaveral, Fla., where it will be integrated with an Atlas V rocket scheduled to launch no earlier than May 6. The spacecraft is part of a secondary payload dubbed ULTRASat, which will fly aboard the U.S. Air Force mission AFSPC-5. Bill Nye (The Science Guy), CEO at The Planetary Society, […]
