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The Solar-Sail Launched Interstellar Probe: Pre-Perihelion Trajectories and Application of HolographyDesign of missions beyond our solar system presents many challenges. Here, we consider certain aspects of the solar-sail launched interstellar probe (ISP), a spacecraft slated for launch in the 2010 time period that is planned to reach the heliopause, at 200 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun after a flight of about 20-years duration.

The baseline mission under consideration by NASA / JPL has a sail radius of 200 m, a science payload of 25 kg, a spacecraft areal mass thickness of about two grams per square meter and is accelerated out of the solar system at about 14 AU per year after performing a perihelion pass of about 0.25 AU. In current plans, the sail is to be dropped near Jupiter's orbit (5.2 AU from the Sun) on the outbound trajectory leg.

One aspect of this study is application of a realistic model of sail thermo-optics to sail kinematics that includes diffuse / specular reflectance and sail roughness. The effects of solar-wind degradation of sail material, based on recent measurements at the NASA MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center) Space Environment Facility were incorporated in the kinematical model.

After setting initial and final conditions for the spacecraft, trajectory was optimized using the provision of variable sail aspect angle. The second phase of the study included consideration of rainbow holography as a medium for a message plaque that would be carried aboard the ISP in the spirit of the message plaques aboard Pioneer 10 /11 and Voyager 1 /2. A prototype holographic message plaque was designed and created by artist C. Bangs with the assistance of Ana Maria Nicholson and Dan Schweitzer of the Center for Holographic Arts in Long Island City, NY. The piece was framed by Simon Liu Inc. of Brooklyn, NY. Concurrent to the creation of the prototype message plaque, we explored the potential of this medium to transmit large amounts of visual information to any extraterrestrial civilization that might detect and intercept ISP. It was also necessary to investigate possible degradation of holograms by the space environment. We developed a new way of characterizing the optical quality of holograms.
Document ID
20020068821
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Contribution to a larger work
Authors
Gregory L. Matloff
(Pace University New York, New York, United States)
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 2002
Publication Information
Publication: Research Reports-2001 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program
Publisher: Marshall Space Flight Center
Volume: NASA/CR-2002-211840
Issue Publication Date: July 1, 2002
Subject Category
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG8-1786
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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