IKAROS JAXA Solar Sail mission Options

[Vultur]

IKAROS sounds really cool, is there any website to find more info on it?

[punkboi]

IKAROS sounds really cool, is there any website to find more info on it?

Project Page: http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/ikaros/index_e.html

Photos: http://jda.jaxa.jp/jda/p3_e.php?mode=level...mp;mission=9095

Description Page: http://www.jspec.jaxa.jp/e/activity/ikaros.html

[pandaneko]

Here is a movie about the Ikaros. It is a bit long, but it should give you some idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_6HOqBkP2o

Pandaneko

[JTN]

(We don't seem to have a dedicated IKAROS thread, so...)

Here is a movie about the Ikaros. It is a bit long, but it should give you some idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_6HOqBkP2o

In Japanese (which I can't understand), but that implies that a free-flying craft will be deployed from IKAROS just to take photos of the deployed sail. (Around 9:30.) K3wl.

Anyone know of an English-language (or translatable) resource that describes in detail what instruments/equipment (e.g., cameras, radios) are on board IKAROS? The press kit just mentioned is the best I've seen so far, but there's hints of stuff in the video that's not mentioned there (such as the aforementioned free-flyer).

I'm impressed how much functionality they've crammed onto the sail itself -- it's not just a passive sail, it has solar cells, a dust counter, "liquid crystal device that controls attitude by changing light reflection characteristics", etc. Hope it all works.