Solar sailing - using the sun as a propellant - offers the possibility of low-cost long-distance missions that are impossible with conventional spacecraft. This first comprehensive book on this propulsion method provides a detailed account of solar sailing, at a high technical level, but in a way accessible to the scientifically informed layperson. Solar sail orbital dynamics and solar radiation pressure form the foundations of the book, but the engineering design of solar sails is also considered, along with potential mission applications.

Inhalt

1 Introduction to solar sailing.- 2 Solar radiation pressure.- 3 Solar sail design.- 4 Solar sail orbital dynamics.- 5 Non-Keplerian orbits.- 6 Mission application case studies.- 7 Laser-driven light sails.