NASA's First Solar Sail NanoSail-D Deploys in Low-Earth Orbit

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ? Friday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. EST, engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite deployed its 100-square-foot polymer sail in low-Earth orbit and is operating as planned.

Actual deployment occurred on Jan. 20 at 10 p.m. EST and was confirmed today with beacon packets data received from NanoSail-D and additional ground-based satellite tracking assets. In addition, the NanoSail-D orbital parameter data set sh [...]

Full story at http://spacefellowship.com/news/art24767/nasa-s-first-solar-sail-nanosail-d-deploys-in-low-earth-orbit.html