Explore Worlds
Find Life
Defend Earth
LightSail Academic Resources
Are you an engineer, academic or space enthusiast looking to build on our solar sailing work? Here are some resources that may help. We have schematics, links to peer-reviewed papers, parts lists and high-resolution imagery.
Schematics
- LightSail 2 baseline schematics (PDF)
- Digital model, CubeSat form (3D PDF)
- Digital model, solar panels deployed (3D PDF)
- Digital model, solar sail deployed (3D PDF)
Academics
Betts, B., Nye, B., Vaughn, J., Greeson, E., Chute, R., Spencer, D., Ridenoure, R., Munakata, R., Wong, S., Diaz, A., Stetson, D., Foley, J., Bellardo, J. and Plante, B. (2017): LightSail 1 Mission Results and Public Outreach Strategies. Paper presented at Fourth International Symposium on Solar Sailing 2017, Kyoto, Japan.
Betts, B., Spencer, D., Bellardo, J., Nye, B., Diaz, A., Plante, B., Mansell, J., Fernandez, J., Gillespie, C., and Garber, D. (2019): LightSail 2: Controlled Solar Sail Propulsion Using a CubeSat. Paper presented at International Astronautical Congress 2019, Washington, D.C.
Betts, B., Spencer, D., Nye, B., Munakata, R., Bellardo, J., Wong, S., Diaz, A., Ridenoure, R., Plante, B., Foley, J. and Vaughn, J. (2017): LightSail 2: Controlled Solar Sailing Using a CubeSat. Paper presented at Fourth International Symposium on Solar Sailing 2017, Kyoto, Japan.
Hilverda, M. & Davis, J. (2015): Communicating LightSail: Embedded Reporting and Web Strategies for Citizen-Funded Space Missions. Poster session presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall 2015 Meeting, San Francisco, CA. (warning: 25 MB file)
Mansell, J., Spencer, D., Plante, B., Fernandez, M., Gillespie, C., Bellardo, J., Diaz, A., Betts, B., and Nye, B. (2020): Orbit Raising and Attitude Performance of the LightSail 2 Solar Sail Spacecraft, 2020 AIAA Science and Technology Forum, Orlando, Florida, January, 2020.
Mansell, J.R.; Bellardo, J.M.; Betts, B.; Plante, B.; Spencer, D.A. (2023): LightSail 2 Solar Sail Control and Orbit Evolution, Aerospace 2023, 10, 579.
Nye, B. and Greeson, E. (2016): The LightSail Story, Public Outreach Strategies and Results. Paper presented at International Astronautical Congress 2016, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Plante, B., Spencer, D., Betts, B., Chait, S., Bellardo, J., Diaz, A. and Pham, I (2017): LightSail 2 ADCS: From Simulation to Mission Readiness. Paper presented at Fourth International Symposium on Solar Sailing 2017, Kyoto, Japan.
Ridenoure, R., Spencer, D., Stetson, D., Betts, B., Munakata, R., Wong, S., Diaz, A., Plante, B., Foley, J., and Bellardo, J. (2015): Status of the Dual CubeSat LightSail Program. Paper presented at AIAA SPACE 2015 Conference and Exposition, Pasadena, CA.
Ridenoure, R., Munakata, R., Diaz, A., Wong, S., Plante, B., Stetson, D., Spencer, D., and Foley, J. (2015): LightSail Program Status: One Down, One to Go, Proceedings of the 29th Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites, Logan, Utah, USA, August 8-13, 2015, paper: SSC15-V-3.
Ridenoure, R., Munakata, R., Diaz, A., Wong, S., Spencer, D., Stetson, D., Betts, B., Plante, B., , Bellardo, J., and Foley, J., (2016) “Testing The LightSail Program: Demonstrating Solar Sailing Technology Using a CubeSat Platform,” Journal of Small Satellites, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 531-550.
Spencer, D., Betts, B., Bellardo, J., Diaz, A., Plante, B., Mansell, J. (2021): The LightSail 2 Solar Sailing Technology Demonstration. Advances in Space Research (ASR), Vol. 67, Issue 9, pp. 2878-2889.
Staehle R., et al. (2013): Interplanetary CubeSats: Opening the Solar System to a Broad Community at Lower Cost. JoSS, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 161-186. See also Final Report on NIAC Phase 1 to NASA Office of the Chief Technologist, 8 December 2012, and From New Architectural Concept to Flight, catalyzed by NIAC, 2018.
Swartzlander, G., Johnson, L., and Betts, B., "Light Sailing into the Great Beyond," Optics & Photonics News 31(2), 30-37 (2020).
Parts List
Here is a document listing LightSail’s major systems and subsystems.
Software
The software is Linux-based and authored under the guidance of Cal Poly San Luis Obsipo. There is no open-source version of LightSail's specific software, but you can download all available Cal Poly CubeSat software on their GitHub page.
Imagery
These high-resolution images show LightSail 2 in various mission configurations.
