Photos: Solar sail to ride the sunbeams
Cosmos 1 will use an exotic fuel to speed through space. Sorry, Trekkies, it's not dilithium crystals.
1 of 5 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET
Photos: Solar sail to ride the sunbeams
The Cosmos 1 spacecraft, seen here in an artist's rendition, will use an exotic fuel to travel through space: sunbeams. Photons from the sun are captured by a large pinwheel structure known as a solar sail.
2 of 5 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET
Photos: Solar sail to ride the sunbeams
Cosmos 1 is set to launch June 21--the summer solstice--from a Russian submarine. Sail deployment is scheduled for June 26.
3 of 5 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET
Photos: Solar sail to ride the sunbeams
In this photo from 2001, a single piece of the sail dwarfs a gathering of engineers.
4 of 5 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET
Photos: Solar sail to ride the sunbeams
The flight electronics are tested in a lab in December 2004. Antennas dot the top, and the flight computer and radios can be found along the bottom disc.
5 of 5 Bill Detwiler/ZDNET
Photos: Solar sail to ride the sunbeams
In an earlier suborbital test flight, a Volna rocket bearing the solar sail is lowered into a submarine.
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