LightSail 2

A Small Satellite With a Solar Sail Could Catch up With an Interstellar Object

When Oumuamua, the first interstellar object ever observed passing through the Solar System, was discovered in 2017, it exhibited some…

3 years ago

LightSail 2 Has Now Been in Space for 2 Years, and Should Last Even Longer Before Re-Entering the Atmosphere

The Planetary Society's crowdfunded solar-sailing CubeSat, LightSail 2, launched on June 25th 2019, and two years later the mission is…

3 years ago

Want the Fastest Solar Sail? Drop it Into the Sun First

A new study from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy shows how a "Sun Diver," a light sail that dives…

4 years ago

New Photos From LightSail 2

Ten months in space! The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft just reached that milestone. And the fine folks at the…

5 years ago

LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it’s Getting Lower and Lower with Each Orbit

LightSail 2 deployed it solar sail five months ago, and it's still orbiting Earth. It's a successful demonstration of the…

5 years ago

The Light Sail is Working… It’s Working!

Good news from The Planetary Society: LightSail 2's solar sail is functioning as intended. After launching on June 25th, then…

5 years ago

Planetary Society Deploys LightSail 2’s Solar Sail. What Does The Future Hold For Solar Sails?

Where you can travel in space depends on how much propellant you’ve got on board your rocket and how efficiently…

5 years ago

Drama In Low-Earth Orbit As LightSail2 Deploys Its Sails

LightSail 2 has successfully deployed its solar sails. Shortly after 12:00 pm PST The Planetary Society tweeted that the sails…

5 years ago

LightSail 2 is Sending Home New Pictures of Earth

LightSail 2, the brainchild of The Planetary Society, has gifted us two new gorgeous images of Earth. The small spacecraft…

5 years ago

LightSail 2 Mission is Going Strong and Sending Mission Info Home!

The Planetary Society recently launched its LightSail 2 technology demonstrator, which could prove to be an effective means of propulsion…

5 years ago