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Ikaros Spacecraft Successfully Propelled In Space

Posted by timothy on from the best-place-for-it-really dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Japan's IKAROS spacecraft has already successfully deployed the first solar sail in space, but today it made the only first that really matters: it successfully captured the sun's rays with its 3,000-square-foot sail and used the energy to speed its way through space. Each photon of light exerts 0.0002 pounds of pressure on the 3,000-square-foot sail, and the steady stream of solar exposure has succeeded in propelling the nearly 700-pound drone."

3 of 229 comments (clear)

  1. Sad writing (and summary) by waives · · Score: 5, Insightful

    stupid writers reported the total force on the sail (1.12mN) = 0.0002 lbf as the per-photon pressure.

  2. Top Speed ? by meerling · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Great, now they can see if it's acceleration is anywhere near what proponents and sci-fi writers have been saying for decades.
    Also, maneuverability, as I just don't see most of those sailing techniques working in a vacuum.
    Can't wait for final results :)

  3. Use scientific units... by Co0Ps · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Use SI-units for crying out loud. This is a scientific context. Not a grocery list. Also so the rest of the 90% of the world population can understand it..