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Countdown Goes Smoothly for Solar Sail-Propelled Spacecraft
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 21 June 2005
3:00 p.m. ET
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All
is set for the launch of The Planetary Society's Cosmos 1 solar sail. The submarine has
taken position at a pre-selected spot in the Barents Sea.
The
nominal launch time is 3:46 p.m. Eastern time.
Liftoff
the rocket won't be immediately confirmed. The launch is being conducted by the
Russian Navy. They will contact Lavochkin Association near Moscow who will then
relay the information to The Planetary Society.
Louis
Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society, is standing by at
Lavochkin. "Everything is basically ok, and we are relaxed here. Except me. I
am not relaxed."
The
$4 million solar sailing project is an undertaking of The Planetary Society, a
public space advocacy group headquartered in Pasadena, California. The effort
is sponsored by Cosmos Studios, a science-based entertainment company located
in Ithaca, New York.
Cosmos
1 was built by the Lavochkin Association and the Space Research Institute of
the Russian Academy of Sciences in Russia.
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