MOSCOW, November 3Students of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University will conduct an experiment with the deployment of a solar sail on the Parus-MSTU satellite, which Russian cosmonauts launched into orbit during a spacewalk on October 26, said the head of the Youth Space Center of the University, Victoria Mayorova.
Earlier it was reported that cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolay Chub would launch the satellite and also monitor the deployment of its solar sail. However, while working in outer space, the astronauts did not notice the opening of the sail.
«This is an experiment, it may not be carried out right away. The satellite is in orbit, it feels great, we control it, we set it up for control immediately after launch, in an hour and a half. It is operational,» Mayorova said.
According to her, the timing of the experiment does not play a big role.
«This is an educational experiment, so any accumulation of results and experience is very good for the children,» Mayorova added.
The satellite was not launched manually; the cosmonauts used a launching device, also developed by Baumanka students. The device needs to ensure that the device flies exactly along a straight path. It is assumed that in the future it will be possible to launch other nanosatellites from the International Space Station.
«Parus-MSTU» is equipped with a solar sail, which, when bombarded with solar charged particles, creates thrust. When spinning the device, this sail can be extended to different lengths, and thus the thrust can be adjusted to change the orbit.