Aucbvax.5306 fa.space utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!space Wed Nov 25 03:22:55 1981 SPACE Digest V2 #41 >From OTA@S1-A Wed Nov 25 03:17:47 1981 SPACE Digest Volume 2 : Issue 41 Today's Topics: Solar Sails ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 24 Nov 1981 20:43:31-PST From: decvax!duke!unc!smb at Berkeley In-real-life: Steven M. Bellovin To: decvax!duke!unc!space@Berkeley Subject: Solar Sails The November 21 issue of "Science News" has a fairly long (by its standards) article on solar sails. According to the article, the Mariner 3 and 4 spacecraft were designed to use solar vanes to help with attitude control; unfortunately, neither probe worked right. But light pressure was used to roll-stabilize the Mariner 10 in 1974 when problems with the attitude-control system threatened to exhaust its supply of steering gas. Without "solar-sailing mode", it probably could not have completed its Mercury flybys. The World Space Foundation is designing and building prototype solar sails; they hope to get a free launch on an Ariane or some other vehicle, much as the OSCAR satellites have been launched. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics even purchased a shuttle "Getaway Special" for a sail, but NASA ruled it didn't qualify, apparently because the specials could not be used to deploy structures outside the shuttle. ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest ******************* ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.