Space yacht powered by solar waves finally sets sail



Japan says its kite-shaped 'space yacht', designed to float through space using only the power of the sun, has successfully set sail.



A Japanese rocket last month launched the experimental 'Ikaros' - Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun - designed to be propelled by the pressure of sunlight particles.

The technology could eventually enable space travel without fuel, as long as there is sunlight.



The device has a square, ultra-thin and flexible sail measuring 14m by 14m that is driven through space as it is pelted by solar particles

Similar to an ocean yacht pushed by wind, the device has a square, ultra-thin and flexible sail measuring 14m by 14m that will be driven through space as it is pelted by solar particles.



The sail, which was fully expanded on Thursday, is only a fraction of the thickness of a human hair and is partly coated with thin-film solar cells to generate electricity.



A statement from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)said: 'We have confirmed the full expansion of the sail and electric generation with thin film solar cells at about 7.7 million kilometres from Earth.'



JAXA will continue monitoring and studying 'navigation technology using the solar sail', it said.

The device was launched from the Tanegashima Space Centre on May 18.

This image sent back from the Ikaros spacecraft shows a portion of its solar sail being unfurled

'It is a hybrid technology of electricity and pressure', Japanese Space Agency expert Yuichi Tsuda said.

'Solar sails are the technology that realises space travel without fuel as long as we have sunlight. The availability of electricity would enable us to navigate farther and more effectively in the solar system.'



Scientists will steer the Ikaros by changing the angle at which sunlight particles bounce off the silver-coloured sail.



During a six-month mission they will head towards our sister planet Venus. If this is a success JAXA are planning further missions to the red giant Jupiter and Trojan using sails more than twice as the size of the Ikaros.



A computer graphic reveals the deployment of the sail

The £35million Ikaros is the first use of such technology in deep space. Past experiments have limited crafts to orbits around Earth.



It's name is an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun. It also alludes to the Greek mythic hero Icarus who flew too close to the Sun and fell into the sea.



'Unlike the mythical Icarus, this Ikaros will not crash,' Mr Tsuda said.



Japan has become a major player in the space industry in recent years. In 2008 it installed a £1billion laboratory on board the International Space Station.



The space agency has proposed that the Japanese government send a wheeled robot to the moon in five years and build the world's first lunar base by 2020.



Under the plan, the robot's tasks would include setting up an observation device, gathering geological samples and sending data back to Earth. The robot would also set up solar panels to generate energy.



This would cost Japan around £1billion over the next 10 years.













