Ebook: Advances in Solar Sailing

This book presents the best contributions of the the Third International Symposium on Solar Sailing Glasgow, 11 – 13 June 2013. It is a rapid snap-shot of the state-of-the art of solar sail technology in 2013 across the globe, capturing flight programs, technology development programs and new technology and application concepts. The book contains contributions from all of the leading figures in the field, including NASA, JAXA, ESA & DLR as well as university and industry experts. It therefore provides a unique reference point for the solar sail technology. The book also includes key contributions from the prospective users of solar sail technology, which will allow the technology to be considered by the user in this unique context.

Hosted by the Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory within the
department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of the University of Strathclyde, the third International Symposium on Solar Sailing was held in McCance Building at 16 Richmond Street, Glasgow, between 11 and 13 June 2013. The symposium attracted over 90 delegates from19 different counties, bringing together international experts from across the globe to discuss funded solar sail flight programs alongside on-going technology development and testing programs. The symposium also provided a forum for the discussion of enabling technologies, new application concepts, materials and structural concepts, space environmental effects, dynamics, navigation, control, and much more. This volume contains the unabridged symposium proceedings, in the gathered experts own words. As symposium chair, I thank our partners at Scottish Enterprise and L’Garde, Inc., the symposium’s gold sponsor, for their support in realising this symposium.