Uploaded May 2017 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
The sails on a typical sail ship use the pressure from the wind exerted on them to propel the ship in a particular direction. Solar sails act in the same exact way. They are a type of spacecraft propulsion that use the radiation pressure from beams of sunlight on mirrors to push along the spacecraft. The main structure of the sail is composed of a layer of polymer coated with aluminum. The most common materials that meet the criteria of being lightweight, highly reflective, and able to tolerate high temperatures include aluminum and aluminum coated kapton and mylar.
It can be very difficult producing large enough sheets of these materials that are thin enough for photons to be able to propel the craft. Therefore the process of how these materials are built is very important to creating effective solar sails. For aluminum, physical vapor deposition was used. The aluminum then proved too fragile to make it to space so mylar coated in aluminum was used instead. This is produced by melting polyethylene terephthalate that is then drawn out on a chilled roller. The thinned material is then drawn in both directions at once with heated rollers. It is then coated with aluminum using physical vapor deposition. This had problems with peeling so the material kapton was chosen to replace it. Kapton is produced using step polymerization where monomers react together and join to eventually become long chain polymers. This is then also coated with aluminum using physical vapor deposition. Today aluminum coated kapton is used because it has lightweight, highly reflective, and heat resistant properties and its structure allows for the durability necessary for it to make the journey into space.
Solar sails have the potential to push the limits of space travel. Without having to carry fuel for propulsion, ships will be able to carry humans farther into the universe than anything based on simple propulsion alone. This is why our group has decided to explore solar sails as our topic. If we look to history for trends of voyage, ships began as simple propulsion based structures, evolved into sailing vessels, and then evolved again into those we know today. We believe space travel will develop in a similar manner and solar sails is humanity's next step. This is why solar sails are such an important area of investigation.
By Ari Goldman, Ricky Dobson, Sami Clayton, Rojeen Kamali
References: docs.google.com/document/d/1d3W7YV7EM6m7IXeVsTBw_1SVr1TQohAIAB_ofrZAUuc/edit?usp=sharing
The sails on a typical sail ship use the pressure from the wind exerted on them to propel the ship in a particular direction. Solar sails act in the same exact way. They are a type of spacecraft propulsion that use the radiation pressure from beams of sunlight on mirrors to push along the spacecraft. The main structure of the sail is composed of a layer of polymer coated with aluminum. The most common materials that meet the criteria of being lightweight, highly reflective, and able to tolerate high temperatures include aluminum and aluminum coated kapton and mylar.
It can be very difficult producing large enough sheets of these materials that are thin enough for photons to be able to propel the craft. Therefore the process of how these materials are built is very important to creating effective solar sails. For aluminum, physical vapor deposition was used. The aluminum then proved too fragile to make it to space so mylar coated in aluminum was used instead. This is produced by melting polyethylene terephthalate that is then drawn out on a chilled roller. The thinned material is then drawn in both directions at once with heated rollers. It is then coated with aluminum using physical vapor deposition. This had problems with peeling so the material kapton was chosen to replace it. Kapton is produced using step polymerization where monomers react together and join to eventually become long chain polymers. This is then also coated with aluminum using physical vapor deposition. Today aluminum coated kapton is used because it has lightweight, highly reflective, and heat resistant properties and its structure allows for the durability necessary for it to make the journey into space.
Solar sails have the potential to push the limits of space travel. Without having to carry fuel for propulsion, ships will be able to carry humans farther into the universe than anything based on simple propulsion alone. This is why our group has decided to explore solar sails as our topic. If we look to history for trends of voyage, ships began as simple propulsion based structures, evolved into sailing vessels, and then evolved again into those we know today. We believe space travel will develop in a similar manner and solar sails is humanity's next step. This is why solar sails are such an important area of investigation.
By Ari Goldman, Ricky Dobson, Sami Clayton, Rojeen Kamali
References: docs.google.com/document/d/1d3W7YV7EM6m7IXeVsTBw_1SVr1TQohAIAB_ofrZAUuc/edit?usp=sharing
