- The small satellite checked in with ground controllers at 2:21 p.m. ET on Saturday for the first time since an outage began on Wednesday afternoon, according to Jason Davis of the Planetary Society.
- Davis said the organization's engineers had a "leading theory" that the spacecraft was stuck in a "loop" where power levels were too low in the Earth's shadow, but too high in direct sunlight.
- The LightSail prototype comes equipped with a large Mylar sail that is the size of a basketball court that is tucked inside the craft. Once unfurled, this sail should allow the craft to use the sun's radiation to propel through space, a cheap form of propulsion that could one day bring small satellites to deep space destinations like Mars or the moon.
Bill Nye's LightSail spacecraft wakes up, unfurls on second attempt
6. 7. 15 by Martin Ross