The Planetary Societys crowdfunded solar sailing CubeSat LightSail 2, which launched June 25, 2019, was funded by the Planetary Societys. It is still in operation two years later. LightSail 2, a pioneering demonstration of solar sail technology, uses gentle photons from Sun to adjust its orbital trajectory and maneuver. LightSail 2 was launched in March and had been declared a success within months. This set new standards for spacecraft propulsion systems and expanded the possibilities. It has continued to test the limits and capabilities of solar sailing on an extended mission.The extended mission's primary goal is to test the spacecraft in various modes of operation and learn how to sail effectively and efficiently. Despite the fact that LightSail 2 has been flying in harsh orbital conditions for two years, it is still flying extremely well. Software updates, learning experience, and meticulous debugging efforts have all helped to keep LightSail 2 flying so well. The team continues to monitor shrinkage, crinkles and delamination. However, LightSail 2's orbit decay rates are the lowest since the beginning of the mission.It will eventually orbit. It is currently at 692 km altitude, which is about 25km lower than its initial orbit. It loses less than 20m per hour when it is in sailing mode and, on good days, even gains altitude. LightSail loses approximately 50m per day when it is not sailing.The mission was a huge success and the Planetary Society has no hesitation in sharing the results. You can see the LightSail 2 team's regularly posted pictures from orbit here.LightSail 2 in the Bahamas Credit: The Planetary Society.It has been a long road to reach this point. It has been a long journey to get here. Carl Sagan, a famed astrophysicist and founder of the Society, championed the idea early in its history. His passion and influence led to the creation of a plan that would become Cosmos 1. A 100-kilogram vehicle was launched from a submarine using a Russian Volna rocket. Cosmos 1 was unable to reach space due to a malfunction in the launch vehicle.The Planetary Society did not give up. The Planetary Society didn't give up. With the advancements in satellite technology, smaller and cheaper CubeSats became viable test vehicles. This allowed for an ambitious new plan to be developed, starting with LightSail 1 which launched in 2015. Although its orbit was too low to allow sunlight pressure to overcome atmospheric drag it laid the foundation for LightSail 2, which has made leaps and bounds in comparison to its predecessors.Solar sails have also been tested beyond the low Earth orbit. The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), used a solar sail called IKAROS in 2010 to navigate above the clouds of Venus.Although it is still a long way away, there is some hope that interstellar travel will be possible with this technology. Breakthrough Starshot's program envisions solar sails propelled by concentrated laser beams that could carry small probes to nearby stars such as Alpha Centauri in a time-shortening 20 year travel time. LightSail 2's lessons may be an important first step in the quest for distant stars. They are an inspirational symbol of perseverance, ingenuity and for the time being they don't even have to be Mars robots.Learn more: https://www.planetary.org/articles/lightsail-2 completes-second year-in-space
