Photo: Planetary Society
Having been in space for nearly a month now, the Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft is yet to perform the task it was sent up to perform. Yet taking advantage of the spacecraft's unique position, its handlers had it take some stunning photos of our planet.
We're used to seeing images of Earth taken from orbit, as humans have been circling the planet for decades now. The LightSail though is at a greater distance than say the International Space Station, at 720 km (447 miles), meaning its shots put the planet in a brand new perspective.
The first photo was taken by LightSail on July 12, and it shows Mexico, a part of California and the tropical storm Barry, while the second brings to light the Caribbean Sea. This second image was taken on July 7. Both were published this week.
As per the team behind the mission, taking photos is not what the spacecraft was supposed to do, but taking of spare bandwidth allowed for the two images to be downloaded.
Other than that, news from above is that the spacecraft "remains healthy and stable in its current orbit." The new target date for the deployment of the solar sails is July 21, but that is "dependent on the mission team having a high degree of confidence that the attitude control system is ready for solar sailing."
LightSail 2, in essence just a CubeSat with a mission, is up in orbit to prove that solar winds (you can read that as light if you like) can be used to propel a man-made spaceship.
This is not the first attempt the Planetary Society has made to prove its point. In 2015, a prototype was sent up, but technical problems put a dent on the mission.
This time around, the team plans to use solar wind to raise LightSail's orbit.
The first photo was taken by LightSail on July 12, and it shows Mexico, a part of California and the tropical storm Barry, while the second brings to light the Caribbean Sea. This second image was taken on July 7. Both were published this week.
As per the team behind the mission, taking photos is not what the spacecraft was supposed to do, but taking of spare bandwidth allowed for the two images to be downloaded.
Other than that, news from above is that the spacecraft "remains healthy and stable in its current orbit." The new target date for the deployment of the solar sails is July 21, but that is "dependent on the mission team having a high degree of confidence that the attitude control system is ready for solar sailing."
LightSail 2, in essence just a CubeSat with a mission, is up in orbit to prove that solar winds (you can read that as light if you like) can be used to propel a man-made spaceship.
This is not the first attempt the Planetary Society has made to prove its point. In 2015, a prototype was sent up, but technical problems put a dent on the mission.
This time around, the team plans to use solar wind to raise LightSail's orbit.
Fresh pics from LightSail 2! ø
— Planetary Society (@exploreplanets) 17 iulie 2019
Our flight controllers are continuing to tweak and test the spacecraft ahead of sail deployment: https://t.co/8HZUcVTD4D pic.twitter.com/yJ6h1lBxqM
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