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Ikaros Steers Using Sunlight Alone

The solar sail is the first to do so

Aug 7, 2010 09:39 GMT  ·  By
The Ikaros spacecraft recently managed to change its direction using only the pressure sunlight exerted on its solar sail
   The Ikaros spacecraft recently managed to change its direction using only the pressure sunlight exerted on its solar sail

Officials at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announce that they were recently able to perform another premiere maneuver using the Ikaros solar sail. The spacecraft, which is the first successful prototype of its class, managed to turn while flying through deep space, all while using nothing more than the pressure of sunlight as a driving force. Its square polymer sail, which is extremely sensitive to the action of photons in light, was able to capture sufficient energy to allow for the amazing maneuver, Space reports.

Launched in May alongside the Venus-bound Akatsuki weather satellite, the Ikaros spacecraft is the first working solar sail ever deployed. It works based on a principle similar to the one that allows sail boats on Earth to roam the surface of the ocean. The difference is that, instead of using winds as a means of propulsion, a solar sail uses the streams of photons the Sun emits as light. It can harness this power thanks to a massive sail, which is very light, and capable of being deformed by even the smallest force.

With the new milestone, JAXA has proved that it can control both the altitude and course of a spacecraft using nothing more than a solar sail. This means future satellites or ships could be constructed to make good use of this technology. Once refined, solar sails could take human astronauts all the way to the Moon or Mars, scientists believe. The mission Ikaros is flying now is therefore the object of a lot of attention from the international scientific community.

“JAXA will continue the attitude control experiment by the Ikaros to evaluate the details of the attitude control performance while continuing to conduct research on attitude control technology using sunlight pressure as a technology that enables navigation for longer in time and further in distance by a solar sail,” announced recently in a statement officials at JAXA. According to Junichiro Kawaguchi, a program manager at the Agency, a solar sail mission to Jupiter could become a reality by 2020 at the latest.