Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3)
NASA is developing new deployable structures and materials technologies for solar sail propulsion systems destined for future low-cost deep space missions. Just as a sailboat is powered by wind in a sail, solar sails employ the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, eliminating the need for conventional rocket propellant.
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What is the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System?
NASA is developing new deployable structures and materials technologies for solar sail propulsion systems destined for future low-cost deep space missions. Just as a sailboat is powered by wind in a sail, solar sails employ the pressure of sunlight for propulsion, eliminating the need for conventional rocket propellant.
Learn About Solar Sails about What is the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System?![Advanced Composite Solar Sail System’s solar sail is laid out on the floor of a warehouse](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/acs3-flight-sail-test-fit-20220506-02.jpg?w=1536)
Engineers at NASA’s Langley Research Center test deployment of the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System’s solar sail. The unfurled solar sail is approximately 30 feet (about 9 meters) on a side. Since solar radiation pressure is small, the solar sail must be large to efficiently generate thrust.
NASA