The May issue of Reader’s Digest names Cosmos 1 one of America’s 100 Best in the category of innovations.  The solar sail, a project of The Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios, was described by Reader’s Digest as the “ultimate hybrid vehicle,” referring to the fact that although the spacecraft will launch atop a converted ICBM from a submerged Russian submarine, propulsion in orbit will be provided by the thrust of photons alone, bouncing off the huge reflective sails.

While The Planetary Society is based in the United States, the solar sail is actually an international project.  The sail was designed and built by the Lavochkin Association and the Space Research Institute in Russia.  Cosmos Studios, the science-based entertainment company led by Ann Druyan, funded the mission with additional donations from members of The Planetary Society around the world.

“The Planetary Society and the entire Cosmos 1 team are delighted to receive this recognition for our innovative solar sailing project,” said Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society.

Solar sailing is done not with wind, but with reflected light pressure – its push on giant sails can change orbital energy and spacecraft velocity continuously.  Once injected into Earth’s orbit, the sail will be deployed by inflatable tubes, which pull out the sail material and make the structure rigid.  Each blade measures 15 meters in length and is made from 5-micron-thin aluminized, reinforced Mylar — about 1/4 the thickness of a trash bag. More information about the project is found at http://planetary.org/solarsail and http://solarsail.org

THE PLANETARY SOCIETY:

Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, The Planetary Society has inspired millions of people to explore other worlds and seek other life. Today, its international membership makes the non-governmental Planetary Society the largest space interest group in the world.  Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray and Louis Friedman founded The Planetary Society in 1980.

COSMOS STUDIOS:

Cosmos Studios was founded in 2000 by Ann Druyan, Joe Firmage and Kent Gibson, to create science-based entertainment designed to engage the broadest possible television, film and internet audience.  Among its first achievements have been the DVD of the epochal 13-part television series COSMOS and the documentary films ‘COSMIC AFRICA” and “COSMIC JOURNEY,” which was nominated for the Emmy Award for the best long form science documentary in 2004.  Cosmos Studios is based in Ithaca, New York.

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