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NASA Set To Launch Solar NanoSail Into Space

Posted by timothy on from the solar-powers-activate dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Earlier this year the Japanese space agency successfully deployed and used a solar sail to propel its spacecraft Ikaros, and now NASA announced plans this week for its own solar sail mission. This fall it will launch the NanoSail-D into orbit 400 miles up with a Minotaur IV rocket. Once deployed, it will orbit for 17 weeks, proving the technology and allowing astronomers to snap lots of photos."

1 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. "D" by nomad-9 · · Score: 5, Informative

    And here's the answer to the question everyone wants answered: What does "D" stand for?
    "We chose the 'D' in the name, not because it came after models A, B, and C, but because it can stand for demonstrate, deploy, drag, and/or de-orbit."
    - Edward "Sandy" Montgomery. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.