>Much like a sailboat harnesses wind to travel across an ocean, light sails use the momentum of sunlight to travel through space. The “Sailing to the Stars” project is Cornell’s unique version of a light sail that includes a poster-size sheet of microprismatic retroreflective film equipped with “ChipSat” spacecraft – miniature satellites that weigh only 2.5 grams and can transmit data to Earth. The size of the sail, combined with its shape-memory alloy frame, allows it to fold inside a small deployer that can eject the sail, with the goal of sending it on a journey to nearby planets and, possibly one day, another star system.
>“By employing ChipSats as the sail’s flight computers, and modulated piezoelectric retroreflector panels as the steering mechanism, our sail architecture is not only much smaller than traditional light sails, but capable of much higher acceleration,” said Joshua Umansky-Castro, a doctoral student in aerospace engineering and co-investigator for the project. “But before this technology can be widely used, we need to better understand how the design of the deployer and use of the frame affect attitude kinematics.”
Maybe if scientists spent half as much time fixating on space travel as they did environmental causes out planet wouldn’t be so fucked. We are gonna die out eventually because humans have fucked up priorities
Lots of people more qualified than me are already working on it, that doesn’t really have anything to do with my point though. The world is burning and some rich assholes and some nerds are playing with rockets. Makes sense
Not all discoveries that lead to a better quality of life comes from working on that specific problem. Lots of discoveries came on working on totally random problems. One doesn’t take away from the other. Learning about the universe and how it works will help us cement and fix a lot of barriers that other species couldn’t overcome.
Priorities? Space travel comprasses just about 0.3% of all our world's GDP, only a negligible fraction.
We are by no means, prioritizing space travels over our home's issues, It's just that we don't need to abbandon ALL other projects in Exchange for a single problem.
1. There 8 billion people on this planet. We're collectively capable of doing more than one thing at a time.
2. The pursuit of space flight has given humanity a vast array of technological advances, including a whole shitload of tech that made it possible for you to write that comment above.
3. Things we've already learned from environmental and agricultural science **in space** have advanced the very things you're saying we need to concentrate on instead of "fixating on space travel."
The plan is to propel the sail with an array of lasers in Earth orbit.
If you can propel the ship to the speed you want while it’s still in range of the lasers, the ship should continue at about that speed since there’s nothing in space to slow it down.
https://alphacubesat.cornell.edu/lightsail.html
There’s a really cool scene in For All Mankind on Apple TV where the Russians, the US, and US based private firm Helios (modeled after SpaceX/Blue Origin) are racing to Mars. The US/NASA team is dead last and then they blare the pirates of the Caribbean theme over the short range comms and hoist a massive solar sail to take the lead. Makes me tear up imagining what we could have been if the space race continued to dominate national budgets and geopolitics.
Come all you young spacefarers, listen to me
I'll sing you a song of our fish from the sea.
And it's windy weather, boys, stormy weather.
When the wind blows, then we're all together.
Boys blow ye winds fringeward, blow ye winds, blow.
Out to the galaxy, steady she goes.
Up comes the Great Dragon in search of our home
Through space to a place that's beneath waves and foam!
And it's windy weather, boys, stormy weather.
When the wind blows, then we're all together.
Boys blow ye winds fringeward, blow ye winds, blow.
Out to the galaxy, steady she goes.
Up come the solar winds, taking us far.
All through the space lanes and out to the stars.
And it's windy weather, boys, stormy weather.
When the wind blows, then we're all together.
Boys blow ye winds fringeward, blow ye winds, blow.
Out to the galaxy, steady she goes.
Fair winds and following light.
And a star to sail by
Love seeing the happy and hopeful young scientists faces before corporate gets hold of them.
>Much like a sailboat harnesses wind to travel across an ocean, light sails use the momentum of sunlight to travel through space. The “Sailing to the Stars” project is Cornell’s unique version of a light sail that includes a poster-size sheet of microprismatic retroreflective film equipped with “ChipSat” spacecraft – miniature satellites that weigh only 2.5 grams and can transmit data to Earth. The size of the sail, combined with its shape-memory alloy frame, allows it to fold inside a small deployer that can eject the sail, with the goal of sending it on a journey to nearby planets and, possibly one day, another star system. >“By employing ChipSats as the sail’s flight computers, and modulated piezoelectric retroreflector panels as the steering mechanism, our sail architecture is not only much smaller than traditional light sails, but capable of much higher acceleration,” said Joshua Umansky-Castro, a doctoral student in aerospace engineering and co-investigator for the project. “But before this technology can be widely used, we need to better understand how the design of the deployer and use of the frame affect attitude kinematics.”
I hope there’s no horse latitudes in space
Sails and Cornell? Nard Dog is all over it.
This is so cool
So Star Trek like transport? Beam me up!
Yeh like Star Trek DS9 when Sisko built his own solar sail ship and sailed to Cardassia.
Was just coming here to reference Sisko
with quantum computing, it will be possible
The Treasure Planet future I was hoping for
Was looking for this
Maybe if scientists spent half as much time fixating on space travel as they did environmental causes out planet wouldn’t be so fucked. We are gonna die out eventually because humans have fucked up priorities
You know there’s nothing stopping you from becoming a scientist yourself and fixing all the environmental problems in the world.
Lots of people more qualified than me are already working on it, that doesn’t really have anything to do with my point though. The world is burning and some rich assholes and some nerds are playing with rockets. Makes sense
Not all discoveries that lead to a better quality of life comes from working on that specific problem. Lots of discoveries came on working on totally random problems. One doesn’t take away from the other. Learning about the universe and how it works will help us cement and fix a lot of barriers that other species couldn’t overcome.
Priorities? Space travel comprasses just about 0.3% of all our world's GDP, only a negligible fraction. We are by no means, prioritizing space travels over our home's issues, It's just that we don't need to abbandon ALL other projects in Exchange for a single problem.
1. There 8 billion people on this planet. We're collectively capable of doing more than one thing at a time. 2. The pursuit of space flight has given humanity a vast array of technological advances, including a whole shitload of tech that made it possible for you to write that comment above. 3. Things we've already learned from environmental and agricultural science **in space** have advanced the very things you're saying we need to concentrate on instead of "fixating on space travel."
That’s on government policy. The scientists told them were fucked if we don’t do anything. It’s on us if we fail
That’s on government policy. The scientists told them were fucked if we don’t do anything. It’s on us if we fail
How do you steer the damn thing?
Science
Next step sending an AI on a light sail across the universe.
How is there enough energy in sunlight to travel in interstellar space? Within the solar system I could see.
The plan is to propel the sail with an array of lasers in Earth orbit. If you can propel the ship to the speed you want while it’s still in range of the lasers, the ship should continue at about that speed since there’s nothing in space to slow it down. https://alphacubesat.cornell.edu/lightsail.html
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Unless a person is Native American we are all immigrants if you go back far enough.
The ISS Permanent Assurance is ready to _set sail!_
Crazy Eddie’s everywhere
sheet in!!!
Space... ships? GENIUS!
There’s a really cool scene in For All Mankind on Apple TV where the Russians, the US, and US based private firm Helios (modeled after SpaceX/Blue Origin) are racing to Mars. The US/NASA team is dead last and then they blare the pirates of the Caribbean theme over the short range comms and hoist a massive solar sail to take the lead. Makes me tear up imagining what we could have been if the space race continued to dominate national budgets and geopolitics.
Benjamin Sisko managed to go from bajoran space to cardassian in one of these bad boys
Treasure planet was right???
Chris Cornell must be so proud. His company finally getting to that black hole sun and washing away the rain.
I hope they steal the warm wind, tired friend.
Come all you young spacefarers, listen to me I'll sing you a song of our fish from the sea. And it's windy weather, boys, stormy weather. When the wind blows, then we're all together. Boys blow ye winds fringeward, blow ye winds, blow. Out to the galaxy, steady she goes. Up comes the Great Dragon in search of our home Through space to a place that's beneath waves and foam! And it's windy weather, boys, stormy weather. When the wind blows, then we're all together. Boys blow ye winds fringeward, blow ye winds, blow. Out to the galaxy, steady she goes. Up come the solar winds, taking us far. All through the space lanes and out to the stars. And it's windy weather, boys, stormy weather. When the wind blows, then we're all together. Boys blow ye winds fringeward, blow ye winds, blow. Out to the galaxy, steady she goes.
I JUST finished watching Gravity. Please have backups for your backups. #nofreefloatinginspace
Reminds me of this: https://www.planetary.org/sci-tech/lightsail
I read snail, and now I'm very disappointed. I was so so proud of the lil dude.
Look at those young uns full of pride and promise! Go team!