Sunjammer: Largest Solar Candle Ever Made to Hit Space in 2014
According to NASA, 2014 will be the year when the largest solar sail ever produced will reach outer space. With sides measuring 37.8 meters and made of material only 5 microns thick, the Sunjammer works very similarly to a sail used in maritime navigation.
The difference is that instead of air displacements, the sail will be powered by solar winds - charged particle emissions from the solar corona. While the measurements allow for a boost of just 0.01 newton, enough for something close to the mass of a sugar package - which may be quite relevant in a vacuum - the structure has the obvious advantage of dispensing with any kind of fuel.
Arthur C. Clarke and the Ashes of “Star Trek”
Although Sunjammer has been in production for some time, it was only recently that Space.com appeared with the project files. Despite the more technical part of the whole thing, the solar sail inherits both the concept and its own name from the work of science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke - who had imagined a kind of space yachting. The use of the name was granted by the author.
Sunjammer will also carry the ashes of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and his wife Majel Barret Roddenberry out of the earth's atmosphere - along with other people who paid for their remains to make the "trip."
