NanoSail-D

NanoSail-D finally deployed.. don’t laugh, I know this is a two week old news.. Frankly speaking… I am not getting time to write posts.. too busy with my day to day work.

Anyways, it’s a big achievement because NanoSail-D is the first one of its type ever deployed successfully in space by human. Few years ago, the Planetary Society attempted a mission called Cosmos 1, which was very similar to NanoSail-D but the Cosmos 1 was destroyed because of failure of launch vehicle which prevented it from reaching its intended orbit. Deployment of NanoSail-D nanosatellite was confirmed by engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. EST. It is operating as planned with its 100-square-foot polymer sail.

Solar Sails like NanoSail-D take the advantage of sunlight (not like solar cells..!!), and do not require chemical fuel (wow… either not like other spacecrafts..!!). Isn’t that interesting…? If not like above two methods then how…? Here is the concept..

I will take a scenario.. just for some fun, but it will solve my motive.

As per Hindu mythology when HANUMAN (monkey God) was a kid, he assumed Sun as a ripe orange. With the help of his divine powers he became enormous and took the Sun into his mouth (just a myth). But if this was the real scenario.. can you imagine what he could have felt that time…?

A lots of HEAT, of course, but there was one more thing.. “PRESSURE”. The heat because of Hydrogen fusion and the pressure because of momentum of photons (because photon exhibit wave-particle duality).

For us it only comes to about a millionth of an unit. But in space, even this pressure can be of ultimate use because it is there every time regardless of hours, days or years. The good news is its unlimited and absolutely free of cost. Solar Sails can catch the radiation blowing from the Sun and get the momentum transferred to a very slowly but accelerated speed. This speed keeps on increasing with respect to time and can reach to extent where interplanetary transportation is possible in few hours.

We are doing fantastic but still there is a lot to be discovered and revealed at least the reason “Why we are here…?”

For more details of NanoSail-D please refer This Link.