Solar Sail

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Solar Sail
Credit: NASA / MSFC Illustration

Nearly 400 years ago astronomer Johannes Kepler observed comet tails blown by a solar breeze and suggested that vessels might likewise navigate through space using appropriately fashioned sails. It is now widely recognized that sunlight does indeed produce a force which moves comet tails and a large, reflective sail could be a practical means of propelling a spacecraft. In fact, the illustration above represents one concept explored by NASA centers to develop an interstellar probe pushed along by sunlight reflected from an ultrathin sail. Nearly half a kilometer wide, the delicate solar sail would be unfurled in space. Continuous pressure from sunlight would ultimately accelerate the craft to speeds about five times higher than possible with conventional rockets -- without requiring any fuel! If launched in 2010 such a probe could overtake Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft bound for interstellar space, in 2018 going as far in eight years as the Voyager will have journeyed in 41 years.

 

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I think solar sails will be too difficult to use for propulsion. The future is nuclear.

 

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I am not to sure that the future is nuclear. Be that as it may. The point is that this is doable now. With the technology we have now. Without having to haul masses of sheilding, fuel and storage containers, ect.

 

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Yes, i think that when the great space pioneer-rush happens, the most economical way for the space -Klondikers to travel will be their space sloops...

 

nuculer is far to dangerous. one mistake you lose millions of dollers. i think that the future of space travel is by jerry-rigged solar sails

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It depends on the mission: solar sails are excellent as relatively cheap slowboats on medium distances like mars / astroid belt or as long distance explorer (proxima centauri) due to its long accelaration path.

For time-critical missions , distances shorter than mars are probably better off with chemical / nuclear solutions (provided, the nuclear rockets are build in space with at that time cheap moon / asteroid material)

 

It's being done ...

 

Solar sails definitely seem to be very practical and efficient over long distances, but what happens if a tiny-but-common asteroid flies by, poking holes through the delicate sail, thereby reducing its effeciency?

 

Not a lot. Solar sails, to work, are BIG!

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/lunar/school/InterStellar/Fuel_Sail_Class/default.html

A solarsail made of lithium-6 and using microwaves to accelerate the ship, near the destination, the lithium sail is pulled in and used as fuel in a Bussard reactor to deccelerate the ship.

Sharing the good properties of both propulsion systems:
sails (relatively lightweight due to external power) and nuclear (high specific impulse) and overcoming their traditional problems (how do you decellerate a solarsail in a short amount of time, nuclear ships tend to be huuuuuuge)

 

Solar sails will most defiantly be perfect for hauling cargo, but because of there very slow acceleration rate I don't see it as very effective in moving people unless the sail is very VERY large or assisted with lasers or masers. Nuclear will be good for moving people. No nuclear is not any more dangers then chemical propulsion, and nuclear electric propulsion even less so. I think nuclear electric variable Isp plasma propulsion will be the best form of interplanetary nuclear propulsion of the future… until nuclear fusion of course.

This is the site I always recommend for space propulsion answers:
http://www.islandone.org/APC/index.html
Here more on solar sails:
http://www.u3p.net/ssc/ssc_a.htm

 

The thing I see is the difficulty in deploying a solar sail. Hundreds of acres are needed, and even at molecule thick, that builds up over time. The problem is not after you build the ship, but during the construction.

 

If you even did make a solar sail, wouldn't you have to have some type of structure to support it, like a kite? And if it were to be acres and acres large, what kind of material could you use that's super light weight, durable, strong, and"collapsable"? Wouldn't that present a problem? What about actually getting it up into space? If solar wind is its only means of propulsion, what do we do, use a trebuchet the size of Texas?

 

Nope they would not weigh much at all:
http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~diedrich/solarsails/types/spin.html

 

So, what material would they use to support the gargantuous sail? Can they even make a sheet of "fabric" that big?

 

it does say exobiology, so his point in this forum at least isn't entirly out of line

 

Is this solar sail the same deal as the anit-matter propulsion sail?

I read that the anti-matter propulsion is very plausible, but its really a matter (pun!) of resources. Scientists only have a limited supply on Earth, but they could manufacture it on a space station for a much reduced price. Anyway, both are interesting.

 

Possibly Aerogel. Its lightweight (duh) and malleable enough to form into a sail. This technology can be very very useful...

Just wondering: How close can Aerogel get to the Sun before melting? Anything beyond Venus is mind blowing.

 

Hahahaha did you know that with current production technology it would take 1 billion years for a thousands of anti-matter factors combined to produce just 1 kg of ant--matter!!!

no solar sails are much more viable.

 

What? Does no one read my links??? the answers are there please stop with these rather stupid conjectures!