After more than three years orbiting the Earth, the Planetary Society's LightSail 2 mission has come to an end, burning up
A solar sail is a device that uses the pressure of sunlight or a laser on a mirrored surface to propel a spacecraft.
LightSail 2 was launched on board a rocketSpaceX Falcon Heavy in June 2019. At the same time, it entered its initial orbit at an altitude of about 720 km. At this altitude, the Earth's atmosphere is still thick enough to provide the drag required for a proof of concept.
The last image sent by LightSail 2 before the mission ended. The spacecraft burned up upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. Planetary Society (CC BY-NC 3.0)
Although the size of the ship is most similaronto a shoebox, LightSail 2 unfurled a solar sail about the size of a boxing ring. The idea is that photons of sunlight hit this sail and create a slight thrust, helping the ship change its orbit.
The experiment with LightSail 2 proved thatthis concept is working. In three and a half years, the spacecraft covered 8 million km, constantly adjusting its orbit. Yesterday, the spaceship was pulled too strongly towards the Earth and it burned up in the planet's atmosphere. Finally, the ship sent back to Earth the last image it had taken.
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