Team uses fractal geometry to build lighter structures

(Phys.org)—A team made up of members from several European countries has published a paper in Physical Review Letters describing a technique they've developed for using fractal geometry to build structures that maintain ...

First-ever solar sail a 'momentous achievement'

In an unexpected reversal of fortune, NASA's NanoSail-D spacecraft has unfurled a gleaming sheet of space-age fabric 650 km above Earth, becoming the first-ever solar sail to circle our planet.

NASA ejects nanosatellite from microsatellite in space

(PhysOrg.com) -- On Dec. 6 at 1:31 a.m. EST, NASA for the first time successfully ejected a nanosatellite from a free-flying microsatellite. NanoSail-D ejected from the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, ...

Sailing Among the Stars

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA launch will evaluate how a nanosatellite spacecraft and its payload performs.

Mercury could be the perfect destination for a solar sail

Solar sails rely upon pressure exerted by sunlight on large surfaces. Get the sail closer to the sun and, not surprisingly, efficiency increases. A proposed new mission called Mercury Scout aims to take advantage of this ...

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