NASA Solar Sail Prototype Gets Longer Life in Orbit

Skywatchers who have yet to spot NASA's prototype solar sail in orbit can take heart -- the little satellite will be zipping around Earth for a few more months yet, space agency officials say. NASA's NanoSail-D satellite was originally expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere 70 to 120 days after unfurling its 100-square-foot solar sail, which happened Jan. 20. But the satellite is descending more slowly than anticipated, meaning it should stay aloft at least until July, NASA officials announced today (April 26). "NanoSail-D has lowered its altitude above the Earth by approximately 28 miles (45 kilometers) from its original altitude of 400 miles (640 km), and continues to descend," said Dean Alhorn, NanoSail-D principal investigator at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in a statement. More

(Source: Space.com - Apr 28)