The $4 million USD attempt to place a solar space craft into orbit falls back to Earth due to mechanical failure.
Project director Louis Friedman of the Planetary Society believes the Volna rocket’s stages never separated, and that the rocket went down at Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago between the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea.
Mr. Friedman said analysts in Russia and the United States were analyzing data gathered from ground stations in different parts of the world. “We are hopeful of having more definitive results from their analysis in the next few days,” said Mr. Friedman.
The Cosmos 1 project sought to place a vehicle equipped with Mylar solar sails into space. At an orbit of 500 miles, the craft would deploy eight large sails. In theory, those sails could catch what science fiction writers call the solar wind, but would really be photons emitted by the sun.
From the ground, scientist members of the project believed they could maneuver Cosmos 1 by tacking its sails. If they had been able to do this, it would have helped prove the concept of solar powered flight.
Being able to develop a space craft that could be powered without needing a massive reserve of depleteable fuel will help bring humanity closer to exploring more of space, including the planets closest to Earth.
Even a solar sail craft would need a source of photons after reaching a certain distance from the sun. In our system, a craft moving beyond the orbit of Jupiter would probably have to have a “light gun” to move it from a standing start.
But once a solar sail craft gets moving, it should be able to reach speeds with no real limit besides the speed of light. Although the current mission has ended in disappointment, those who look to the stars should consider it a step on the way rather than a misstep.
“The story of Cosmos 1 is not over,” says Mr. Friedman.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
