On May 21, 2010, Japan launched the first solar sail into space.
Solar sail technology uses light for spacecraft propulsion, but not in the same way that traditional solar panels do. While solar panels use light to generate electricity, spacecraft with solar sails rely only on the light itself to cruise through outer space. Particles of light called photons actually push the spacecraft forward. A single photon can’t accomplish this on its own, but with enough photons striking a spacecraft, propulsion is possible—you just need a big surface to catch all that light. Scientists have been toying with this idea since the 1800s, but Japan finally proved that it was possible when the country launched the Ikaros mission. The mission’s name stands for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun. This experimental spacecraft had a 2,100-square foot sail that looked like a giant space kite. Japan’s space agency was also able to steer the spacecraft by controlling the orientation of liquid crystals in LCD panels that were built into the solar sail. Ikaros sailed all the way to Venus in just six months before continuing on its orbit around the sun.
00:00On May 21, 2010, Japan launched the first solar sail into space.
00:09Solar sail technology uses light for spacecraft propulsion, but not in the same way that traditional solar panels do.
00:15While solar panels use light to generate electricity,
00:18spacecraft with solar sails rely only on the light itself to cruise through outer space.
00:22Particles of light called photons actually push the spacecraft forward.
00:26A single photon cannot accomplish this on its own.
00:29But with enough photons striking a spacecraft, propulsion is possible.
00:33You just need a big surface to catch all that light.
00:36Scientists have been toying with this idea since the 1800s,
00:39but Japan finally proved that it was possible when the country launched the IKAROS mission.
00:44The mission's name stands for Interplanetary Kite Craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun.
00:50This experimental spacecraft had a 2,100 square foot sail that looked like a giant space kite.
00:56Japan's space agency was also able to steer the spacecraft by controlling the orientation of liquid crystals and LCD panels that were built into the solar sail.
01:04IKAROS sailed all the way to Venus in just six months before continuing on its orbit around the Sun.
01:10And that's what happened on this day in space.
01:12And that's what happened on this day in space.
