Solar Sailing: Technology, Dynamics and Mission ApplicationsSpringer Science & Business Media, 2013 M11 27 - 296 pages Solar sailing offers the possibility of low-cost long-distance missions, impossible for any other type of conventional spacecraft. The book provides a detailed account of solar sailing, at a high technical level but in a way accessible to the scientifically informed layman. Solar sail orbital dynamics and solar radiation pressure form the foundations of the book, but the engineering design of solar sails is also considered, along with potential mission applications. This book introduces the subject and at the same time provides a technical reference source. |
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blade centre-of-mass characteristic acceleration clock angle comet Halley component cone angle cos² defined deployed deployment direction disc solar sail displaced displacement distance distance ecliptic plane energy equation of motion equilibrium solutions Firstly force vector frame of reference function Geostorm gravitational heliogyro high-performance solar sails interplanetary interstellar Kapton Keplerian orbit L₁ Lagrange point laser light sail locally optimal logarithmic spiral manoeuvres maximise Mercury mission applications obtained orbit period orbit radius payload mass photons planet-centred planetary propulsion radiation pressure acceleration radiation pressure force reflectivity required solar sail Robert Forward sail area sail film sail lightness number sail pitch angle seen semi-major axis shown in Fig solar radiation pressure solar sail acceleration solar sail design solar sail lightness solar sail orbit solar system spacecraft spars specific impulse speed square solar sail steering law structure substrate Sun-centred non-Keplerian orbits Sun-line surface thermal torque transfer variational equation