References & Sources

Travelin’ Light Full Text

Sailing through the solar system...and beyond

Using the gentle but persistent pressure from sunlight bouncing off a highly reflective sail, spacecraft of the not-too-distant future may glide through the solar system and into interstellar space.

References:

West, J.L. 1996. NOAA/DOD/NASA Geostorms warning mission. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology report. October 18.

Further Readings:

Cowen, R. 1999. Shape may help predict solar storms. Science News 155(March 13):164.

______. 1996. New year in space science. Science News 149(Jan. 13):24.

Eberhart, J. 1981. Riders of the light. Science News 120(Nov. 21):328.

Sources:

Robert L. Forward
Forward Unlimited
8114 Pebble Court
Clinton, WA 98236

Charles E. Garner
California Institute of Technology
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Systems Division
Pasadena, CA 91109-8099

Les Johnson
Marshall Space Flight Center
TD15 Building 4203
Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812

Patricia Mulligan
NOAA/NESDIS
Room 3010 FB 4
5200 Auth Road
Suitland, MD 20746

John L. West
California Institute of Technology
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Systems Division
Pasadena, CA 91109-8099

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 8, August 21, 1999, p. 120. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.