Watch the first launch of Bill Nye's LightSail spacecraft live at 10:45AM ET
The first test flight of the experimental LightSail spacecraft blasts off today at approximately 11:05AM ET, with the live stream (above) starting at 10:45AM ET. The project is led by nonprofit The Planetary Society, with Bill Nye at the helm. It aims to test a new form of space travel known as solar sailing, in which a large reflective sheet is used to harness the solar radiation pressure produced by the Sun. In an interview on The Tonight Show in 1976, Carl Sagan described it as working “exactly as a sailboat does.”
Perfect morning for a rocket launch. Let’s change the world! pic.twitter.com/rUbOxA3PNZ
— Bill Nye (@BillNye) May 20, 2015
Today’s flight won’t launch the LightSail prototype into orbit, but is instead testing…
Source:: The Verge
