A group of students hailing from Estonia are about to do something remarkable. Well, two things really. They are about to launch what will be their nation’s first satellite into orbit. (A fantastic milestone in and of itself.) But what the satellite is theoretically capable of doing is just as important.
The small, cube-like satellite — fittingly named ESTCube-1 — aims to sail upon the currents of solar wind in an innovative new way: by electrifying metal tethers. The tethers will electromagnetically interact with solar wind, so instead of just being pushed along by photons which happen to collide with the spacecraft’s sail, (as is the case with traditional models), the new design will actually charge itself up and grab hold of them.
via DVICE
Image credit: University of Tartu/ESTCUBE team
