LightSail 2 Spacecraft Successfully Demonstrates Flight by Light

Re:LightSail 2 Spacecraft Successfully Demonstrates Flight b... by tfolbrecht on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @09:57PM (#20580558)

I'm curious if you could selectively turn off the reflective effect in different regions of the material and steer it that way.

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Re:LightSail 2 Spacecraft Successfully Demonstrates Flight b... by andygates on Friday August 02, 2019 @08:35AM (#20592489)

IKAROS used this technique. The bird was spin-stabilised and a section of the sail had LCD shades that could be dark or light. It could darken its, say, venus-side segments as they went round.

Gloriously over-engineered.

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