The Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios plan to sail the old-fashioned way: by the seat of their pants. The two groups put together a solar sail project and they plan to send it to the stars on Tuesday, June 21st, 2005, summer solstice. If this project flies, the next stop will be the “second star to the right and straight on til morning.”
Solar sails projects are in development by a number of space agencies include NASA, the European Space Agency, Russia and Japan. They’ve all got projects but none have sent them into the heavens.
At a time when NASA struggles to maintain funding and the world waits with baited breath while the Discovery moves closer to its launch, this sun sail project could steal NASA’s wind. The two organizations have done this project on a shoestring budget, too.
The two organizations got hold of a retired Russian SLBM. They’ve hollowed it out, removing the warhead and stuck this little ship in it. The thing will launch from a submarine in the Barents Sea and hopefully will succeed.
The shoestring budget was $4 million dollars and they saved money wherever they could. Even their engineers came cheaply. They acquired a number of brilliant Russian engineers who just happened to need a little work. With completely private funding, driven by Ann Druyan, the head of Cosmos Studios, the folks over at the Planetary Society and the Japan Planetary Society put this project together. Did I mention Ms. Druyan was the widow of Carl Sagan?
They’ve also sent a CD on the ship. The ship carries the names of 75,000 people from the organizations as well as messages from Druyan and project director Louis Friedman.
The solar sailing vessel will take advantage of the sun’s rays and as it gets into a clear path of them, it will accelerate, very quickly. The scientists expect Cosmos to hit 195 miles and hour after the first day and 10,000 miles an hour after the 100th day. That’s fast. Very fast!
If this project works, it will certainly revolutionize space travel. While it won’t alter the ISS missions too much at this point, it will provide a new form of propulsion to reach space including Mars and beyond. This could potentially redefine space programs.
Frankly, I must confess a fair amount of excitement. As someone who grew up reading and watching science fiction, this was the stuff of fiction. We watched the rockets go to the moon and the space shuttles take off and land. This is mind-boggling and insanely cool. As a student of history, I recognize the significance of looking for new ways to explore the unknown, much like Columbus and Cabot and Ericson in the past. Explorers are the stuff of legend.
Good luck on the Cosmos 1. I can almost hear the words of Captain Kirk in my ears: “Space the final frontier”
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
