Maris Stella Yacht Club and Crabbing Society
For those of you who don't read the Wall Street Journal on a regular basis, I recommend you to today's issue and, in particular, the Section B Science Journal article entitled "Mission on the Cheap Will Launch Spaceship That Uses Solar Sails." You have to pay a subscription fee for online service - this is the Wall Street Journal after all!
This coming Tuesday, Cosmos I will be blasting off out of a Russian nuclear submarine somewhere underneath the Barents Sea. Four days later (it is hoped), the rocket will pop open and eight 49-foot-long triangular sails (6,500 sq. ft. of sail area) will emerge and, if it works, the ship will be propelled by nothing more than the solar wind (apparently a space sailboat can reach speeds of 10,000 mph). And I still have difficulties raising the sail on a sunfish!
According to the Journal, "[a]s maneuverable as the sails on water-borne ships, solar sails can tack, which in theory means they could make ports of call at any planet." Of course it's in theory; can't you just imagine a skipper, traveling at 10,000 mph over the millions of miles of interstellar space, screaming "Ready about?" and his faithful crew yelling back "No! You're too early!"?
Friday, June 17, 2005
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4 comments:
wow - three consecutive postings by stuart/cathie! doesn't anyone else have anything to say? :-)
Unfortunately, Cosmos 1 has sunk to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean as the launch rocket failed after only 83 seconds from liftoff. It certainly is difficult to get a vessel to a speed of 10,000 mph.
Maybe they should have used a fiberglass rubber blade and a mast sleeve retrofit.
i don't think a rubber blade would be very effective, even in space.
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