blue-ravens

[blue-ravens]

Setting Sail to Travel Through Space: 5 Things to Know about our New Mission

Our Advanced Composite Solar Sail System will launch aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand no earlier than April 23, at 6 p.m. EDT. This mission will demonstrate the use of innovative materials and structures to deploy a next-generation solar sail from a CubeSat in low Earth orbit.

Here are five things to know about this upcoming mission:

1. Sailing on Sunshine

Solar sails use the pressure of sunlight for propulsion much like sailboats harness the wind, eliminating the need for rocket fuel after the spacecraft has launched. If all goes according to plan, this technology demonstration will help us test how the solar sail shape and design work in different orbits.

2. Small Package, Big Impact

The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft is a CubeSat the size of a microwave, but when the package inside is fully unfurled, it will measure about 860 square feet (80 square meters) which is about the size of six parking spots. Once fully deployed, it will be the biggest, functional solar sail system – capable of controlled propulsion maneuvers – to be tested in space.

3. Second NASA Solar Sail in Space

If successful, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System will be  the second NASA solar sail to deploy in space, and not only will it be much larger, but this system will also test navigation capabilities to change the spacecraft’s orbit. This will help us gather data for future missions with even larger sails.

4. BOOM: Stronger, Lighter Booms

Just like a sailboat mast supports its cloth sails, a solar sail has support beams called booms that provide structure. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System mission’s primary objective is to deploy a new type of boom. These booms are made from flexible polymer and carbon fiber materials that are stiffer and 75% lighter than previous boom designs. They can also be flattened and rolled like a tape measure. Two booms spanning the diagonal of the square (23 feet or about 7 meters in length) could be rolled up and fit into the palm of your hand!

5. It’s a bird...it’s a plane...it’s our solar sail!

About one to two months after launch, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft will deploy its booms and unfurl its solar sail. Because of its large size and reflective material, the spacecraft may be visible from Earth with the naked eye if the lighting conditions and orientation are just right!

To learn more about this mission that will inform future space travel and expand our understanding of our Sun and solar system, visit https://www.nasa.gov/mission/acs3/.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

#solar sails!! rocket lab!! spaaaaaaace!!!! #omg #nasa #meanwhile in aotearoa

[blue-ravens]

wanting to talk to people is so fucking embarrassing. literally hi it's me again I wanted to have a conversation with you because I think you're fun to talk to. oh god you can just fucking kill me if you want sorry

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the whole fandom is wrong about this blorbo EXCEPT. my besties. they r right

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brown sugar and cinnamon are lesbian married

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#please take your receipt #thank you for shopping at woolworths new zealand

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ugh i’m so happy we showed up for them tonight

they keep going about the fans i’m gonna cry

they just keep GOING, i love them so bad

and they way i had to leave some out because there’s a photo limit 😭😭😭

#i caaaaaaaan't #listen i am not expecting much but oh godddd have i missed playoff hockey #hockey

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2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 1, Game 1 Predators @ Canucks | April 21, 2024

#just hook this shit directly into my veins #hockey

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Bear Appreciation Post ✨

#BEAR <3 #person of interest

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taylor swift is compelling to me as a horror figure

#it's.... yeah #i could never put a finger on it honestly #but it's all just so uncanny valley

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yall gotta be nicer about m/f  bc sometimes u guys like the blandest gay sutff ive ever seen in my life

#the mash fandom owes peg hunnicutt a rather large apology actually #she got done dirty and for what

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characters in their 30's and older exploring their sexuality and discovering themselves beyond their teens and twenties is so important and beautiful and worth telling

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I'm not obsessed with Charles Emerson Winchester III (David Ogden Stiers). Nah, no way, not at all-

Sweet, messed up baby gurl

(Not his character most of the time, ofc. That's a different story all together)

#babygirl <3 #mash

[blue-ravens]

Cherry Blossom

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[blue-ravens]

VERY good M*A*S*H fact this morning

#i think about this at least once a week #mash #david ogden stiers #kellye nakahara

[blue-ravens]

Guardian of the Seas

@_sebastian.grafe_