---
title: "“Solar Sail” Spacecraft Climbs Two Miles of Orbit Using Sun Power"
description: "The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 has officially raised its orbit by just shy of two miles using its solar sail."
date: "2019-08-07"
modified: "2019-08-07"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/solar-sail-lightsail-2-miles-sun-power"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Renewable Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Solar Power"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "lightsail 2"
  - "Planetary Society"
  - "solar sail"
  - "the digest"
  - "the planetary society"
---

# “Solar Sail” Spacecraft Climbs Two Miles of Orbit Using Sun Power

![The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 has officially raised its orbit by just shy of two miles using its solar sail.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/solar-sail-lightsail-2-miles-sun-power.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: The Planetary Society\</em\>*

## Solar Sailing

Mission accomplished.

The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 has [officially raised](<http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-weeks-solar-sailing.html>) its orbit by just shy of two miles using its solar sail. It reached it's furthest point of Earth at 729 kilometers on Monday — an increase of 3.2 kilometers since it [deployed the sail](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2211001-lightsail-2-unfurls-solar-sail-and-begins-travelling-through-space/>) roughly two weeks ago.

## Tumbling Through Space

That's an extraordinary accomplishment. The sail is designed to capture the tiny amount of pressure exerted by the Sun's radiation — a technology that could one day take us to far away places, even perhaps beyond the solar system.

In a single day, LightSail 2 managed to move its orbit by a record 900 meters.

https://youtu.be/BqTan_4Fius

To raise its orbit, the spacecraft had to cycle between what the Planetary Society's team is calling "detumble mode" — a process in which the craft spins a momentum wheel to right and stabilize itself — and solar sail mode. It spent about two thirds of its time within the last ten days in solar sailing mode.

LightSail 2 also sent back a [couple of photos](<http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/lightsail-2-weeks-solar-sailing.html>), showing its unfurled sail with the Earth behind it.

**READ MORE:** [LightSail 2, Pushed by Sunlight, Raises Its Orbit by 10,500 Feet in Just Two Weeks](<https://gizmodo.com/lightsail-2-pushed-by-sunlight-raises-its-orbit-by-10-1837008090?IR=T>) \[*Gizmodo*\]

**More on SolarSail 2:** *[Experimental Spacecraft LightSail 2 Snaps Amazing Photos](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/lightsail-2-snaps-amazing-photos>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)