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SUCCESS
Repository
| PDF Files |
|---|
| Solar Sail Design and Qualification |
Failure Analysis
Flight software glitch. Telemetry data was beamed every 15 seconds, however, the software automatically stored that data in an on-board file which grew in size overtime. After the file size reached 32 megabytes, about two days after launch, it caused the flight system to crash.
Engineers came up with a software fix, but were unable to upload it because the spacecraft was unresponsive even after continual rebooting. Eventually, a fast-moving charged particle hit LightSail's electronics in a way that rebooted the system but they were still unable to upload the software update due to communication limits from the tumbling of the CubeSat. However, engineers were able to deploy the solar sails on June 7th 2015.
| Developer | The Planetary Society |
|---|---|
| Launch | May 20, 2015 |
| Vehicle | Atlas V |
| Size | 3U |
| Function | Solar Sail, deployable solar arrays |
| Notes | Funded on Kickstarter |
| Successor | Lightsail-1 |
Credit: http://space.skyrocket.de/img_sat/lightsail-1__1.jpg