{"id":10614,"date":"2015-05-20T01:57:14","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T05:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10614"},"modified":"2015-05-20T01:58:54","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T05:58:54","slug":"planetary-societys-lightsail-to-launch-on-atlas-v-kickstarter-raising-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10614","title":{"rendered":"Planetary Society&#8217;s LightSail to launch on Atlas V &#8211;  Kickstarter raising funds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A solar sail prototype called the <a href=\"http:\/\/sail.planetary.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">LightSail<\/a>, built by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.planetary.org\" target=\"_blank\">Planetary Society<\/a>, will be one of secondary payloads on an Atlas V rocket set to be launched on Wednesday. The primary payload is one of the\u00a0US Air Force&#8217;s reusble\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boeing_X-37\" target=\"_blank\">X-37B<\/a> spaceplanes.\u00a0The sail is packed into a tiny CubeSat. The sail unfurls from the CubeSat as shown in this Vine:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/vine.co\/v\/eZtpWW0WnZY\/embed\/simple\" width=\"480\" height=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><script src=\"https:\/\/platform.vine.co\/static\/scripts\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The LighSail CubeSat will be deployed with 9 other CubeSats. Here is a\u00a0<span class=\"scayt-misspell-word\" data-scayt-word=\"factsheet\">factsheet<\/span> about the <span class=\"scayt-misspell-word\" data-scayt-word=\"cubesats\">cubesats<\/span> on the rocket:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ulalaunch.com\/uploads\/docs\/Launch\/AtlasV_AFSPC-5_ULTRASat_CubeSat_descriptions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.ulalaunch.com\/uploads\/docs\/Launch\/AtlasV_AFSPC-5_ULTRASat_CubeSat_descriptions.pdf\">Atlas V <span class=\"scayt-misspell-word\" data-scayt-word=\"AFSPC-5ULTRASat\">AFSPC-5ULTRASat<\/span> <span class=\"scayt-misspell-word\" data-scayt-word=\"CubeSat\">CubeSat<\/span> descriptions (pdf)<\/a>. It\u00a0includes this nicely made graphic showing how the <span class=\"scayt-misspell-word\" data-scayt-word=\"cubesats\">cubesats<\/span> are installed and deployed from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ulalaunch.com\/Products_AtlasV.aspx\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.ulalaunch.com\/Products_AtlasV.aspx\">Atlas V<\/a>&#8216;s\u00a0Centaur upper stage:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DeploymentFromCentaur.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10617\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?attachment_id=10617\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DeploymentFromCentaur.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"605,495\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"DeploymentFromCentaur\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DeploymentFromCentaur.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10617\" src=\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DeploymentFromCentaur.jpg\" alt=\"DeploymentFromCentaur\" width=\"500\" height=\"409\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DeploymentFromCentaur.jpg 605w, https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DeploymentFromCentaur-300x245.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Her are some\u00a0recent\u00a0posts from the Planetary Society about the project and the launch:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.planetary.org\/blogs\/jason-davis\/2015\/20150519-in-pictures-lightsail-rollout.html\" target=\"_d\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.planetary.org\/blogs\/jason-davis\/2015\/20150519-in-pictures-lightsail-rollout.html\">In Pictures: LightSail\u2019s Rocket Rolls to the Launch Pad<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.planetary.org\/blogs\/jason-davis\/2015\/20150518-lightsail-first-day-space.html\" target=\"_d\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.planetary.org\/blogs\/jason-davis\/2015\/20150518-lightsail-first-day-space.html\">Timeline: <span class=\"scayt-misspell-word\" data-scayt-word=\"LightSail's\">LightSail&#8217;s<\/span> First Day in Space<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.planetary.org\/blogs\/jason-davis\/2015\/20150508-lightsail-test-mission-images.html\" target=\"_d\">What Images Will We Get Back from the LightSail Test Mission?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To watch the launch, which will happen during\u00a0windows 11:05-11:15 a.m. and 12:42-12:52 p.m. EDT, you can watch\u00a0the webcasts at:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/sail.planetary.org\/missioncontrol\" target=\"_d\">Mission Control Center &#8211;\u00a0The Planetary Society<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ulalaunch.com\/webcast.aspx\" target=\"_d\">Webcast &#8211; United Launch Alliance<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This prototype will not actually achieve any acceleration from the solar light pressure. The orbit will be so\u00a0low that\u00a0the drag from the residual atmosphere will overwhelm the tiny force of solar light. This flight is\u00a0only to test the deployment mechanism and other systems.<\/p>\n<p>A second LightSail to be flown\u00a0\u00a0as a secondary on a launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy in 2016 should reach a high enough altitude where the residual atmosphere will be insignificant and light pressure will be able to move the sail.<\/p>\n<p>To support this\u00a0project, the Planetary Society has a Kickstarter underway at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/theplanetarysociety\/lightsail-a-revolutionary-solar-sailing-spacecraft\" target=\"_d\">LightSail: A Revolutionary Solar Sailing Spacecraft by Bill Nye, CEO, The Planetary Society \u2014 Kickstarter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The target was $200,000 but they have already reached nearly\u00a0$600,000 with 37 days to go. So they are shooting for a million dollars and several stretch goals.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/theplanetarysociety\/lightsail-a-revolutionary-solar-sailing-spacecraft\/widget\/video.html\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"> <\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A solar sail prototype called the LightSail, built by the\u00a0Planetary Society, will be one of secondary payloads on an Atlas V rocket set to be launched on Wednesday. The primary payload is one of the\u00a0US Air Force&#8217;s reusble\u00a0X-37B spaceplanes.\u00a0The sail is packed into a tiny CubeSat. The sail unfurls from the CubeSat as shown in &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10614\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Planetary Society&#8217;s LightSail to launch on Atlas V &#8211;  Kickstarter raising funds<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,35,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism","category-diy-space","category-space-systems"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-2Lc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10622,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10622","url_meta":{"origin":10614,"position":0},"title":"Planetary Society LightSail in orbit","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Atlas V launch mentioned earlier went off well on Wednesday: https:\/\/youtu.be\/l7Riq9rr4ao The X-37B and the ten CubeSats secondary payloads were deployed, including the Planetary Society's LightSail and it began transmitting its status: Liftoff! LightSail Sails into Space aboard Atlas V Rocket - The Planetary Society LightSail Sends First Data\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Activism&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Activism","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/l7Riq9rr4ao\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19091,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19091","url_meta":{"origin":10614,"position":1},"title":"Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup &#8211; June.23.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat \/ SmallSat projects and programs: ** Cranfield University team's Icarus-1 drag sail successfully deployed on Surrey Satellite's TechDemoSat-1 smallsat in orbit back in May: TechDemoSat-1 on-board camera captures drag sail deployment | SSTL TechDemoSat-1, a 150\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amateur\/Student Satellite&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amateur\/Student Satellite","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"TechDemoSat-1 sail deployed May 2019","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/TechDemoSat-1-sail-deployed-May-2019_800x607.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19981,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19981","url_meta":{"origin":10614,"position":2},"title":"Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup &#8211; Oct.20.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"October 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat \/ SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here): ** University students are key to operating the LightSail-2 in orbit: \u201cI Talk to It Every Day\u201d: Students are Vital Members of LightSail 2 Team |\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amateur\/Student Satellite&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amateur\/Student Satellite","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"LightSail-2 Deployment","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/LightSail-2-20190822_tpr-2019-v39n3-6-spread_1000x652-500x326.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19300,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19300","url_meta":{"origin":10614,"position":3},"title":"Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup &#8211; July.22.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat \/ SmallSat projects and programs: ** East Tennessee middle school students build cubesat for launch from the ISS: RamSat - Robertsville Middle School Prepared for lift-off | ORNL Robertsville Middle students' nanosatellite 'RamSat' chosen by NASA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amateur\/Student Satellite&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amateur\/Student Satellite","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&l=am2&o=1&a=1633885348","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19255,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19255","url_meta":{"origin":10614,"position":4},"title":"Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup &#8211; July.16.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat \/ SmallSat projects and programs: ** University built RFTSat to test space-based solar power microwave transmission system: Launch of RFTSat this Sunday! - The Propagation Group\/Georgia Tech This Sunday, a Falcon 9 rocket will launch a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amateur\/Student Satellite&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amateur\/Student Satellite","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"RFTsat ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/1f3381bc4f8b600efb995f6a632e58911-1024x718.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12272,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12272","url_meta":{"origin":10614,"position":5},"title":"Video: Planetary Society&#8217;s LightSail 2 tests its sail","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is an update on the Planetary Society's LightSail 2 project:\u00a0Meet LightSail 2, The Planetary Society's new solar sailing CubeSat -\u00a0The Planetary Society. Last June, LightSail 1 successfully tested the deployment of its sail in orbit. The goal of LightSail 2 is to achieve\u00a0propulsion from the pressure of sunlight. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Activism&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Activism","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/K7UBWz2mvro\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10614"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10619,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10614\/revisions\/10619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}