Launch date set for Cosmos 1 solar sail mission

[LARRY KLAES]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13422809&BRD=1395&PAG=461&dept_id=216620&rfi=6 Launch date set for Cosmos 1 solar sail mission After a number of delays both technical and political, the Cosmos 1 mission, the first true solar sail satellite, has finally received a definite launch date.       Ann Druyan, program director for Cosmos 1 and CEO of Cosmos Studios, a science education company based in Los Angeles and managed from Ithaca, plans to make the dream of solar sailing in space come true early next year.       "I am very, very excited about this," Druyan said. "This project has a lot of potential to waken the public to the wider universe and our means of exploring it."       Cosmos Studios, the main sponsor for the mission, is working in collaboration on this historic project with The Planetary Society (TPS), based in Pasadena, Calif. TPS is humanity's largest private space interest group, dedicated to supporting space exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. The society was co-founded in 1980 by Ann Druyan's late husband, Carl Sagan, professor of astronomy at Cornell University and famous for his popularization of science. Cosmos Studios was also founded to carry on Sagan's dream of sharing the wonder and excitement of science with the public.       After a number of delays and problems with the project - from rocket malfunctions to the overriding training schedule of the Russian Navy - Cosmos 1 is set for launch starting on March 1, 2005. The launch window will be open from that date through April 7 at the determination of the Russian Navy, for it is they who will send this unique satellite into Earth orbit atop a Volna rocket from a submarine in the Barents Sea near the Arctic Circle.       The rocket for this mission was once an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) meant to deliver a nuclear warhead for striking a target in the United States. Now it has been modified to carry a new and peaceful way to explore space, along with being a symbol of earthly peace and international friendship and cooperation.       "We have converted a weapon of mass destruction into a new way to explore the universe," declared Druyan.       The Cosmos 1 satellite will be tracked directly from TPS headquarters in Pasadena, the same place where the mission launch countdown was officially started on Nov. 9, what would have been the 70th birthday of Carl Sagan. Among those in attendance at the ceremony was astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.       The building, which was once a 19th Century carriage house, "has a wonderful grassroots feel about it," said Druyan. "It is like being in the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop," making a comparison to the famous duo who built and flew the first heavier than air vehicle at Kitty Hawk, N.C., just over one century ago.       Once the Russian rocket has successfully placed Cosmos 1 into Earth orbit, the satellite will unfurl eight silvery solar sails by means of inflatable tubes. The sails, made of aluminized Mylar and thinner than a typical plastic bag, are almost 100 feet across.       Such a grand size is necessary for collecting enough of the solar light particles called photons to provide the push necessary to maneuver the satellite in space.       Cosmos 1 could last in orbit from days to months, depending on how well the equipment works.       "Any demonstration that photons from the Sun have moved Cosmos 1 will satisfy us," said Druyan.       The silvery solar sails will also reflect sunlight, making Cosmos 1 like a very bright, moving star visible everywhere it flies over Earth. This will certainly add to the public's awareness of the mission and its goal of demonstrating that spacecraft can travel in the heavens without the need to carry heavy fuel and engines for maneuvering.       Though Cosmos 1 is not designed to leave the vicinity of our planet, the next mission or other solar sail projects could be aimed for destinations in our solar system.       With the help of a powerful laser, a ship equipped with such sails could even one day explore other star systems.       Perhaps it will be a solar sail starship that will encounter the first intelligent beings beyond our world, a fitting tribute to Cosmos 1 and the team who started it all.   To follow the progress of Cosmos 1 and learn more about the mission and solar sailing, see these Web sites: http://planetary.org/solarsail and http://solarsail.org. Larry Klaes