NASA Proposes Launch Of Solar Sail Vehicle For 2010

outcast341 writes: "Apparently, NASA plans to launch a solar sail spacecraft in the year 2010, according to this press release. The the first trip will take about 15 years, traveling about 58 miles per second. The sail will be 440 yards in width, and will be constructed of a reflective carbon-fiber material. 'This will be humankind's first planned venture outside our solar system,' said Les Johnson, manager of Interstellar Propulsion Research at the Marshall Center. 'This is a stretch goal that is among the most audacious things we've ever undertaken.'" (Read more.)

And if a mere 15 years from now and using technology that's lapping on the safe side of fringedom isn't enough to make you bite, Joseph Rosenblum reminds us, "Not news, but cool: if you havn't seen it, NASA has a Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program that is a speculative research division looking into the technologies that will one day enable interstellar travel. There's also a 'Warp Drive, When?' FAQ!"

Comments

15 years?

[crayz]

And if a mere 15 years from now and using technology that's lapping on the safe side of fringedom

Current Year: 2000
Year of launch: 2010

Good Math.

I also think it's interesting that it'll pass Voyager in 2018. It's like starting a computing problem that will take 6 years to complete. If you start it today, it'll be done in 2006. If you start it 2 years from now, and computers are twice as fast, it'll be done in 2005.

Anyway, thank God NASA is doing something like this. People talk about privatizing the space industry and what not, but there are still things that only NASA can do.

NASA's track record.

[The Dodger]

This all sounds well and good, but given NASA's recent track record, I'm wary of getting over-excited.

Up to the 90s, NASA's exploits and feats of engineering have amazed us again and again, producing exploits like The Apollo 13 rescue and interplanetary probes which have continued operating long past their planned life.

However, in recent years, NASA has been in the news more often for bad reasons than for good. It would be interesting to find out why this has occurred. Potential causes include reduction in funding, increasing pressure to deliver results, and a brain-drain towards the private sector.

In the post-Cold War era, with private companies beginning to plan exploitation of space, perhaps NASA's mission needs to be re-examined.

D.

So whats it going to do when it gets somewhere?

[Yarn]

I dont see any mention of data aquistition. Is it just going to be carrying the standard picture of people with no clothes, or will it actually have some active components to phone home? I wonder if they could use the sail as a large antenna...

Ok so I had to say it...

[guran]

...traveling about 58 miles per second. The sail will be 440 yards in width...

Of course someone will think those numbers are in meters...