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Article: Pasadena Group Teams With Russians on Space Vehicle.(Planetary Society)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Los Angeles Business Journal
- Article date:
- May 7, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 CBJ, L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Planetary Society, a Pasadena group co-founded by the late legendary astronomer Carl Sagan, next month will launch into space a test model of its "solar sail vehicle," which navigates space by drawing energy from the sun's rays.
Not only will the voyage mark the first time that a non-governmental organization has attempted a space mission, but it will be the first time a sun-driven space vehicle has been operational in orbit.
The sub-orbital flight next month (on a Russian rocket) is designed to test the deployment of two solar sail blades in a mission scheduled to last only 30 minutes, including 10 minutes in space.
If that test is ...