ACS3
Solar Sail Technology Demonstration
NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System launched on April 23, 2024, to test lightweight composite booms and a deployable reflective sail that uses the pressure of sunlight for propulsion.
Mission type
Small spacecraft technology demonstration
Launch
April 23, 2024
Launch vehicle
Rocket Lab Electron
Launch site
Launch Complex 1, Māhia, New Zealand
Objective
Testing a new way to support solar sails
ACS3 was built to demonstrate lightweight composite booms that can unroll from a compact spacecraft and support a large reflective sail in space.
The mission is intended to reduce the mass and packaging volume of future solar-sail systems, making larger propellant-free missions more practical.
Launch and deployment
From Electron launch to sail deployment
ACS3 launched on April 23, 2024, aboard a Rocket Lab Electron from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand, and was deployed into low Earth orbit.
After spacecraft checkout, the mission proceeded to deploy its composite booms and reflective sail so engineers could evaluate the behavior of the lightweight structure in orbit.
Propulsion
Using sunlight instead of propellant
A solar sail does not depend on wind. Photons from sunlight transfer a small amount of momentum when they strike and reflect from the sail, producing a continuous but very small force.
Over long periods, that force can change a spacecraft's orbit or trajectory without consuming conventional propulsion fuel.
Why it matters
Scaling deployable structures for future missions
The mission focuses as much on structure as propulsion. Large solar sails need booms that are stiff enough to hold their shape but light and compact enough to launch efficiently.
Successful composite-boom technology could support larger solar sails and other deployable spacecraft structures on future science and exploration missions.
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