Howard.Gayle%CMU-CS-G@sri-unix.UUCP (06/16/83)
Space sport proposed: solar-sail race to the moon Princeton, N. J.---Before manufacturing facilities and colonies can be developed in space, space must become a reality for the general public and politicians, as well as for scientists and engineers. What better way to get the public involved in space than a sporting event? asked Guy Pignolet of the French Space Agency in Toulouse. He is part of an amateur organization that plans to participate in a solar-sail race to the moon. Previous space events, as he pointed out at the Princeton Conference on Space Manufacturing held May 9--12, engaged the public through television viewing only, while a solar sail race could be directly observed and viewers could take pictures, cheer teams, and make bets. Such a public-relations stunt is necessary, he explained, because though people think that colonies and manufacturing will eventually be in space, they consider them a dream, and the development of such facilities needs the support of socioeconomic power groups who see it as an impending reality. A solar-sail race, he said, can act as a tangible intermediate step to demonstrate how close we really are to the development of space. It will also serve, he said, to educate ``people who are essential to the large-scale development of space---the politicians.'' They need to be better informed, Mr. Pignolet argued, citing the fact that earlier this year---after five launches of the European rocket Ariane---a member of the U. S. House subcommittee that handles NASA authorization thought Ariane was a manned shuttle. The sails, which use solar pressure to navigate, can work only at altitudes of over 1000 miles beacuse of atmospheric drag. Mr. Pignolet said the racing sails, probably three in number, would be sent to a low orbit with an Ariane launcher, then boosted high above the atmosphere, separated from the container, and allowed to drift a few miles apart. A start signal would be given, and teams would take radio control. The sails would make approximately 100 orbits of the earth and take one year to reach the moon, requiring much navigation to make the best use of solar pressure. So far, Mr. Pignolet said, three groups of amateur solar sailors have declared their intention to participate in the race and are seeking corporate sponsorship. The cost of building, launching, and operating the sails is expected to run into millions of dollars. However, Mr. Pignolet pointed out, its cost compared with the cost of major car and yacht-racing events indicates its feasibility. The race project, he said, is still in its initial development phase. ``All those interested in space colonization and space manufacturing can help toward its success in whatever way they can,'' Mr. Pignolet said, ``in order soon to have 4 billion pairs of eyes looking at the high frontier, and in order sooner to have 4 billion people pushing for the opening of the high frontier.'' ---Tekla Perry, The Institute, July 1983, volume 7, number 7, p. 2. (The Institute is IEEE's monthly newspaper.) Comments: didn't Arthur Clarke describe this years ago, but with manned racers? What does he mean by ``directly observed?'' How big will these things be?
REM%MIT-MC@sri-unix.UUCP (06/18/83)
From: Robert Elton Maas <REM @ MIT-MC> Hmmm, I like the idea. I doubt anyone will actually succeed at getting to the moon the first time, probably each craft will break down before arriving there (I may be pleasantly surprized), so we can give prizes based on how far each craft gets before breaking down, or award prizes based on a partial ordering of how far and how fast. If sails unfurl to a mile across, and they reflect light in random directions (white sails, not silver-reflecting sails), I would think they'd be visible from Earth for a while after launch (let's see, 1 mile across at 1000 miles distance, that's about 3.5 minutes of arc, so it'd not be easily resolvable to the nakid eye but binoculers ought to suffice for seeing more than points of light.
msc@qubix.UUCP (06/20/83)
Yes, Arthur C. C.larke described a very similar idea, but with manned yachts,
in "The Winds from the Sun"
--
Mark
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