NanoSail D
NanoSail D (launch and deployed) |
NanoSail D is a cubesat-based solar sail demonstrator. The mission goals are:
- Establish ARC-MSFC collaborative relationship for future small satellite initiatives
- Deploy a 10 m² solar sail leveraging work by MSFC approved under the SMD In-Space Propulsion Program
- Demo Orbital Debris Mitigation technology – drag sail
- Ground Imaging to reduce spacecraft instrumentation
- Add to flight experience – ARC Bus "light" experience
Two units of the NanoSail D satellites have been built. The first satellite failed to reach orbit due to a malfunction of the Falcon-1 launch vehicle first stage. The second satellite is to be deployed from FASTSAT-HSV 01 after launch on a Minotaur-4 HAPS rocket from Kodiak in 2010.
| Nation: | USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Technology |
| Operator: | NASA Ames Research Center |
| Contractors: | NASA Ames Research Center |
| Equipment: | Solar sail |
| Configuration: | CubeSat (triple) |
| Propulsion: | None |
| Lifetime: | 7 days |
| Mass: | 4 kg |
| Orbit: | 330 km x 685 km, 9° |
| Satellite | Date | LS | Launcher | Remarks: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NanoSail D | 03.08.2008 | Om | F | Falcon-1 | with Trailblazer, PreSat, Celestis 07 |
| NanoSail D2 | 2010 | Kd LP-1 | Minotaur-4 HAPS | with STPSat 2, FASTRAC A, FASTRAC B, FalconSat 5, FASTSat-HSV 01, RAX, O/OREOS |