Solar Sailing

Download or read book Solar Sailing written by Colin R. McInnes and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-27 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar sailing - using the sun as a propellant - offers the possibility of low-cost long-distance missions that are impossible with conventional spacecraft. This first comprehensive book on this propulsion method provides a detailed account of solar sailing, at a high technical level, but in a way accessible to the scientifically informed layperson. Solar sail orbital dynamics and solar radiation pressure form the foundations of the book, but the engineering design of solar sails is also considered, along with potential mission applications.