On June 21, the Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios will launch their Cosmos 1 spacecraft. "So what?", some of you will ask, "It's not like we haven't seen spacecrafts before". Well, this one is different.
For centuries, man has explored the Earth with the help of sails. Magellan, Columbus and many others explorers have used them to chart our vast oceans. But that was long ago, and
the oceans no longer hold mysteries to us. Now, mankind is setting solar sails towards a much greater "ocean": space.
A solar sail is a spacecraft without an engine - it is pushed along directly by light particles from the Sun, reflecting off giant mirror-like sails. Because it carries no fuel and keeps accelerating over almost unlimited distances, it is the only technology now in existence that can one day take us to the stars.
Cosmos 1 has 8 triangular sails, each 15 meters (50 feet) in length, configured around the spacecraft's body at the center. The sails will be deployed by inflatable tubes once the spacecraft is in orbit.
The spacecraft will be launched from a submerged Russian submarine in the Barents Sea. It will be carried into orbit
on board a Volna rocket - a converted ICBM left over from the old Soviet arsenal.
Cosmos 1 will orbit the Earth at an altitude of over 800 kilometers. It will gradually raise its orbit by solar sailing -- the pressure of light particles from the Sun upon its luminous sails.
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