With NASA money , the second phase of the development of an innovative solar sail has started , which will allow spacecraft to fly under the influence of the solar wind both along streams and at significant angles to it. This will increase the maneuverability of vehicles with solar sails and allow the use of unusual propulsion systems for such missions that were previously unattainable for them.
Image Source: MacKenzi Martin / NASA
The development is being carried out by a group of American scientists led by Amber Dubill from the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. NASA praised the concept proposal and allocated $2 million over two years to build a working prototype.
The idea of a solar sail is not new and has even been put into practice more than once. For example, during the Artemis I mission, a Near-Earth Asteroid Scout ( NEA Scout ) satellite will be launched during a flyby of the Moon, which will go to study the 18-meter asteroid 2020 GE. The main engine of the NEA Scout will be a solar sail with an area of about 86 m 2 . But it will be an ordinary sail, the operation of which will be as efficient as possible only if the solar wind “blows” strictly perpendicular to its plane.
The new solar sail uses the principle of wave bending when passing through a bottleneck or diffraction and is also called: “Diffractive solar sail”. The solar wind stream will bend before falling onto the fabric of the sail, for which diffraction gratings will be built in front of it in a thin film. This will allow the sail to be independent or less dependent on the angle of incidence of the solar wind on its surface and make more daring maneuvers with more thrust even at an angle to the sun’s rays.
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