Category: lightsail

NASA will test a new spacecraft solar sail using a NanoAvionics satellite

NASA is going to test a new solar sail system to determine if it’s a viable alternative to propellant-based thrusters for maneuvering small satellites, and potentially for low-cost transportation of spacecraft set on deep-space missions. The agency has selected Illinois-based NanoAvionics to provide the spacecraft that will be used to…

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Rocket Lab to acquire satellite hardware maker Sinclair Interplanetary

Rocket Lab is acquiring Sinclair Interplanetary, a manufacturer of spacecraft hardware based in Toronto that has provided hardware for more than 90 satellites sent to orbit to date, including AstroDigital, BlackSky, ALE and Rocket Lab itself. Sinclair also worked on The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2, which is an experimental spacecraft…

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