NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (or ACS3) is a spacecraft designed to use sunlight as propulsion. However, it has remained uncontrollably spinning in orbit.
As NASA notes in the latest update, the sail is still slowly rotating because the attitude control system hasn’t been activated yet. After launching on April 23, ACS3 deployed its 80m2 sail in September. NASA chose a slow approach to adapt the system to the new dynamics before activating the attitude control system.
During the deployment of the sail, the Aerospace Administration encountered a minor warp in one of the four booms that support it. According to NASA, this could have happened during the stretching of the boom and sail. The analysis shows that the bend partially straightened over several weeks while the vehicle gradually decreased its rotational speed.
The main goal of ACS3 is to test a new composite boom technology that could enable the creation of large solar sails in the future. Despite the problems mentioned, the data obtained has already proved valuable, and the mission will provide important information for future solar sail missions. NASA expects the bend will not pose a major obstacle to the mission.
ACS3 is expected to continue rotating until it is turned toward the Sun for optimal power generation. Then the attitude control system will be activated for precise alignment.
While ACS3 is not the first space sail, it could be an important step for future such missions. Solar sails could provide an inexpensive and efficient method of propulsion for a new generation of spacecraft.
Earlier we told you about the art of space sailing.
Provided by NASA
