Grover Swartzlander
Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
Abstract:
The nearly 100 year old paradigm of navigating the heavens by use of
a reflective solar sail is being challenged by the advent of advanced diffractive
films that offer efficient navigation and propulsion. Other advantages include
recycling of photons when the sail is transmissive, and non-mechanical (e.g.,
electro-optic) navigation protocols. Following a brief history of solar sailing
the talk will describe how diffractive sails may enable the placement of a
constellation of solar polar orbiters for monitoring the entire solar surface.
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