WIRED Staff
Culture

Slideshow: Solar Sail Plying Turbulent Seas

The past and future of flying is currently on display at the Centennial of Flight show at Rockefeller Center. The most controversial item is the solar sail, which backers say will allow space travel without engines or fuel. Doubters say physics makes solar sailing impossible. Michelle Delio reports from New York.
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The solar sail changes its orbital velocity by controlling the direction of the reflected force from sunlight pressure. Sunlight bounces off the mirror-like sail, giving momentum to the vehicle. The force is imparted in a direction controlled by the angle of the sail with respect to the sunlight, which can either increase or decrease the velocity of the spacecraft depending on the direction of the force.

See related story: Solar Sail Plying Turbulent Seas

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Engineers watch a zero-gravity simulation of the solar sail deployment and test its mechanical configuration. This photo was taken in January 2001 at NPO Lavochkin, the world's largest manufacturer of robotic spacecraft.
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spacecraft at NPO Lavochkin in Moscow. The model is constructed mostly of actual spacecraft components, though without many of the electronic parts. The green cylindrical parts that resemble sleeping bags are packaged Mylar sails that will unfold when the spacecraft is in orbit. In the picture, the model is in position for a dynamic vibration test.
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, the first solar sail, will begin its epic voyage from underneath Earth's Barents Sea. The mission, as well as its suborbital test flight, will be launched on Volna rockets (converted intercontinental ballistic missiles of the type once aimed at the United States) from a Russian nuclear submarine.
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Intense, solar-powered space lasers could someday shine a focused beam on huge lightweight sails, allowing a spacecraft to reach enormous speeds and resulting in practical interstellar flight.
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The Wright brothers images were produced to support Air Force Centennial of Flight events.
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The Wright brothers images were produced to support Air Force Centennial of Flight events.
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Project Director Louis Friedman and Bud Schurmeier, chairman of the review committee, inspect the spacecraft model.