The American Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) experimental spacecraft entered Earth orbit on April 24 this year and now the operators of mission confirmed that it had successfully deployed a solar panel in space, NASA announced.
Last Thursday, August 29, at 1:33 p.m., engineers received data that the test of the solar sail deployment system was successful. The innovation works similar to the sails of Earth vessels, except that it requires sunlight to operate.
Photons are massless particles, but when they collide with an object, they can impart momentum to it - this effect is the basis of the principle of operation of the solar sail. The spacecraft on which it is located is equipped with four cameras capable of taking panoramic images of both the reflective sail and the composite masts on which it is mounted.
Testing of ACS3 will take place in the coming weeks, with engineers monitoring the sail's maneuverability in space. By adjusting the orbit, they will obtain data that can be used in the design and operation of future solar sail missions. ACS3 is currently in an orbit roughly twice that of the ISS. If you look at it from above, it looks like a square almost half the size of a tennis court - about 80 m².