Is it proper to call Cosmos-1 'the first solar sail spacecraft'....

Re the debate about whether it's proper to call Cosmos-1 'the first solar
sail spacecraft'....

http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/20..._first_so.html
Friedman respons to Cowing: "JAXA conducted a deployment test on a
suborbital flight -- and did not either build a solar sailing spacecraft or
attempt to fly under sunlight pressure. Those latter two goals are unique
(thus far) to The Planetary Society project. JAXA's test was a valuable
milestone; the Society also had wanted to do a suborbital deployment test in
2001, but it failed when the Volna rocket payload separation failed. The
JAXA deployment of a big thin film in space was not the first in space
either -- the Russians actually did that twice in the 1990s deploying a
large reflective sail in space from the Progress to be observed by Mir. The
program was called Znaimye. Their sail also was not part of a solar sail
spacecraft."

JimO opines: I think Lou is correct in making this assessment. Cosmos-1 is
the first known attempt to launch a vehicle designed to 'solar sail' in
space, to the best of my knowledge. The Japanese experiment was a laudable
mechanical engineering exercise but at an altitude that 'photon pressure'
was hopelessly dominated by aero effects. The two Russian reflectors were
exactly that -- reflectors -- and not sails in any operational sense (and
one failed to deploy properly anyhow), and all Russian commentary at the
time discussed only illumination applications on Earth's surface, not
spacecraft propulsion. It's also the Cosmos-1 explicit intention to perform
controlled 'photon pressure' applications, which makes them different from
the first space vehicle that actually experienced substantial 'solar sail'
effects, Echo-1 back in 1960. So we can find bits and pieces of technology
and physics in the past, which only makes Cosmos-1 a rightful and honorable
heir to previous spaceflight, but also an innovative and potentially
revolutionary FIRST.

Jim Oberg wrote:
Re the debate about whether it's proper to call Cosmos-1 'the first solar
sail spacecraft'....

http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/20..._first_so.html
Friedman respons to Cowing: "JAXA conducted a deployment test on a
suborbital flight -- and did not either build a solar sailing spacecraft or
attempt to fly under sunlight pressure. Those latter two goals are unique
(thus far) to The Planetary Society project. JAXA's test was a valuable
milestone; the Society also had wanted to do a suborbital deployment test in
2001, but it failed when the Volna rocket payload separation failed. The
JAXA deployment of a big thin film in space was not the first in space
either -- the Russians actually did that twice in the 1990s deploying a
large reflective sail in space from the Progress to be observed by Mir. The
program was called Znaimye. Their sail also was not part of a solar sail
spacecraft."

JimO opines: I think Lou is correct in making this assessment. Cosmos-1 is
the first known attempt to launch a vehicle designed to 'solar sail' in
space, to the best of my knowledge. The Japanese experiment was a laudable
mechanical engineering exercise but at an altitude that 'photon pressure'
was hopelessly dominated by aero effects. The two Russian reflectors were
exactly that -- reflectors -- and not sails in any operational sense (and
one failed to deploy properly anyhow), and all Russian commentary at the
time discussed only illumination applications on Earth's surface, not
spacecraft propulsion. It's also the Cosmos-1 explicit intention to perform
controlled 'photon pressure' applications, which makes them different from
the first space vehicle that actually experienced substantial 'solar sail'
effects, Echo-1 back in 1960. So we can find bits and pieces of technology
and physics in the past, which only makes Cosmos-1 a rightful and honorable
heir to previous spaceflight, but also an innovative and potentially
revolutionary FIRST.


Mariner 4 (Mariner-Mars 1964) used solar pressure vanes at the end of
its solar panels in an attempt to use the solar wind for attitude
control. It wasn't solar sailing, but it may have been the first
attempt at using the solar wind by a spacecraft.

Diagram of Mariner 4 showing solar pressure vanes:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/Hi...4212/p164.html

Info about the Mariner 4 solar pressure vane operation:
http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/archive/c.../mariner4.html

"...In addition to this, an auxiliary attitude control system was used
in which vanes positioned at the ends of the solar panels corrected for
solar pressure imbalance. Each of these vanes consisted of seven square
feet of aluminized plastic film made of Mylar. The sun's
electromagnetic radiation exerted a force of approximately a millionth
of a pound on each vane, allowing the vanes to balance the attitude of
the spacecraft on the sun...."


Rusty

"Jim Oberg" wrote:

JimO opines: I think Lou is correct in making this assessment. Cosmos-1 is
the first known attempt to launch a vehicle designed to 'solar sail' in
space, to the best of my knowledge.

Didn't at least one of the Mariner-Mars series have solar sails at the
end of the solar panels? (Though IIRC these were for stabilization
purposes, not propulsion.)

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

Jim Oberg wrote:

JimO opines: I think Lou is correct in making this assessment. Cosmos-1 is
the first known attempt to launch a vehicle designed to 'solar sail' in
space, to the best of my knowledge. The Japanese experiment was a laudable
mechanical engineering exercise but at an altitude that 'photon pressure'
was hopelessly dominated by aero effects. The two Russian reflectors were
exactly that -- reflectors -- and not sails in any operational sense (and
one failed to deploy properly anyhow), and all Russian commentary at the
time discussed only illumination applications on Earth's surface, not
spacecraft propulsion.




They weren't for propulsion, but rather orientation control, but our
Mariner 4 had four small solar sails at the tips of its solar arrays:
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/...g?sc=1964-077A

Pat

Rusty wrote:

Mariner 4 (Mariner-Mars 1964) used solar pressure vanes at the end of
its solar panels in an attempt to use the solar wind for attitude
control. It wasn't solar sailing, but it may have been the first
attempt at using the solar wind by a spacecraft.



Ah hell, you beat me to it! I thought I'd finally caught Oberg on something.

Pat

"Rusty" wrote
Mariner 4 (Mariner-Mars 1964) used solar pressure vanes at the end of
its solar panels in an attempt to use the solar wind for attitude
control. It wasn't solar sailing, but it may have been the first
attempt at using the solar wind by a spacecraft.

David Portree also mentioned this on NASAWATCH, and it's a very good catch!

MCO on its way to Mars in '99 had only a single solar panel and it
was so asymmetric that it was an unintended 'solar sail' and this
contributed to the nav error that eventually doomed the probe.

Jim Oberg wrote:

David Portree also mentioned this on NASAWATCH, and it's a very good catch!

MCO on its way to Mars in '99 had only a single solar panel and it
was so asymmetric that it was an unintended 'solar sail' and this
contributed to the nav error that eventually doomed the probe.



What's interesting is that if you were going to use a solar sail
orientation system on a space probe, you'd expect to find it on
something going to Mercury or Venus- not Mars, where the solar light
flux is starting to drop off.
IIRC, I think I read that the Mariner 4's solar paddles didn't work all
that well, and that's why they didn't show up on later spacecraft designs.

Pat

In message , Pat Flannery
writes


Jim Oberg wrote:

JimO opines: I think Lou is correct in making this assessment. Cosmos-1 is
the first known attempt to launch a vehicle designed to 'solar sail' in
space, to the best of my knowledge. The Japanese experiment was a laudable
mechanical engineering exercise but at an altitude that 'photon pressure'
was hopelessly dominated by aero effects. The two Russian reflectors were
exactly that -- reflectors -- and not sails in any operational sense (and
one failed to deploy properly anyhow), and all Russian commentary at the
time discussed only illumination applications on Earth's surface, not
spacecraft propulsion.


They weren't for propulsion, but rather orientation control, but our
Mariner 4 had four small solar sails at the tips of its solar arrays:
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/...g?sc=1964-077A


Mariner 10 also used solar sails, and the book "Flight to Mercury"
describes it in some detail.
But isn't the real confusion about the name? Cosmos 1 was launched in
1962! Why not give it a sun-related name? Or one appropriate to a
sailing ship?
--
Boycott whale killers - Japan, Iceland, Norway
Remove spam and invalid from address to reply.

Jonathan Silverlight wrote:


Mariner 10 also used solar sails, and the book "Flight to Mercury"
describes it in some detail.
But isn't the real confusion about the name? Cosmos 1 was launched in
1962! Why not give it a sun-related name? Or one appropriate to a
sailing ship?


Carl Sagan's TV series:
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches...te_041109.html

"Sagan’s dream

The announcement today of the Cosmos 1 launch date coincided with the
birthday of Carl Sagan, a co-founder of The Planetary Society. He served
as President of the group until his death in 1996 and would have been 70
years old today.

Ann Druyan, head of Cosmos Studios, was Sagan’s professional
collaborator and widow. As Cosmos 1 Program Director, she said that her
husband would have been pleased regarding the upcoming solar sail mission.

In particular, using a converted weapon of mass destruction as a means
to explore the Universe is a dream of Sagan, "that we would not be just
cleaver with our science and technology, but that we would be wise too,"
Druyan related.

"Happy birthday Carl," Druyan said as she threw the switch that began
the Cosmos 1 countdown clock."

....the alternative name for the craft- "Reefer Space Madness" was
narrowly voted down. :-D

Pat

rk wrote:



IIRC, I think I read that the Mariner 4's solar paddles didn't work all
that well, and that's why they didn't show up on later spacecraft designs.



From what I remember hearing from my JPL days (and I assume I remember the
story correctly) was that you are correct.



They would be very slow to apply much force to the spacecraft, and I
assume vacuum welding of the rotator motors could be a problem also.
Still, it was an interesting idea to try out.

Pat