LightSail 2 Mission Control

LightSail 2 mission patch

LightSail 2 Mission Control

LightSail 2 completed its mission on November 17, 2022

Displaying last data received on UTC

days hrs

Elapsed Mission Time

deployed

Sail Status

volts

Battery Charge (Max 4.2V)

Internal temperature

x y z

Rotation Rates (deg/sec)

Attitude control mode

Spacecraft Location

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Advanced Data

This chart shows LightSail 2’s orbit apogee and perigee as reported by space-track.org since 8 July 2019. Sail deployment occurred on 23 July 2019. The entire dataset can be downloaded here.

Battery 1 Voltage volts
Battery 2 Voltage volts
Battery 3 Voltage volts
Battery 4 Voltage volts
Battery 5 Voltage volts
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Battery 7 Voltage volts
Battery 8 Voltage volts
Battery 1 Current AMPS
Battery 2 Current AMPS
Battery 3 Current AMPS
Battery 4 Current AMPS
Battery 5 Current AMPS
Battery 6 Current AMPS
Battery 7 Current AMPS
Battery 8 Current AMPS
Solar Panel -X Temp°C
Solar Panel +X Temp°C
Solar Panel -Y Temp°C
Solar Panel +Y Temp°C
Payload 3v3 Temp°C
RF Amp Temperature A°C
Daughter B Temperature°C

Latest Articles

LightSail 2 final image

LightSail 2 completes mission with atmospheric reentry
The three-and-a-half-year solar sailing mission showed LightSail 2 could change its orbit with sunlight alone.

LightSail 2 image of Gulf of Aden and Red Sea

LightSail 2 is about to burn up
After 3.5 years, 18,000 orbits of the Earth, and 8 million kilometers (5 million miles) traveled, The Planetary Society’s successful LightSail 2 solar sail spacecraft will burn up as it reenters the Earth’s atmosphere in the next few days.

LightSail 2 image of Madagascar and Mozambique

LightSail 2 getting lower as it completes third year in space
An update on The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 mission, which launched in 2015.

LightSail 2 image of Indonesia

LightSail 2 sails into Smithsonian
The prestigious Washington, D.C. institution will display two models of LightSail 2, which is continuing to demonstrate flight by light in Earth orbit.

LightSail 2 image of Afghanistan and Pakistan

The LightSail 2 latest: mission updates, pictures and more
Almost 30 months after liftoff, the mission continues to help prepare for the next generation of solar sail missions.

LightSail 2 image of northern Australia

LightSail 2 completes second year in space
Two years after launch, The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft is still solar sailing and paving the way for future missions.

LightSail 2 Image of Typhoon Vamco and the Phillipines

NASA Solar Sails Build on LightSail 2
NEA Scout will visit a near-Earth asteroid and Solar Cruiser will test the largest solar sail yet.

LightSail 2 over Earth

LightSail 2 Enters Extended Mission Phase
One year after launch, The Planetary Society’s solar sail spacecraft is embarking on an extended mission dedicated to further advancing solar sailing technology.

LightSail 2 over the Red Sea

Ten New Pictures from LightSail 2
Images from around the globe, plus some night pictures and the spacecraft's solar panels.

LightSail 2 over Earth

Here's What We've Learned So Far from LightSail 2
A new paper recaps mission events, discusses solar sail performance, and describes how the spacecraft's orbit has changed.

Michael Fernandez

“I Talk to It Every Day”: Students are Vital Members of LightSail 2 Team
More than 50,000 people supported LightSail 2. But only one person can talk to the spacecraft at a time, and it's often a student.

LightSail 2 over Caribbean

Bill Nye, Planetary Society Staff Listen to LightSail 2 Signal
When LightSail 2 recently flew south of The Planetary Society's headquarters, CEO Bill Nye and other staff members stepped outside to listen.

LightSail 2 over Australia

Calling All Image Processors: Help Us Create a Top-Down View of LightSail 2
We've got 2 fish-eye pictures of the spacecraft's solar sail from opposite cameras, and we're hoping they can be combined.

LightSail 2 from Izmir Turkey

LightSail 2 Marks 1 Month of Solar Sailing
LightSail 2's orbital high point around the Earth has raised by 7.2 kilometers, without any conventional fuel.

LightSail 1 sky streak

How to See LightSail 2 in the Night Sky
If your latitude is within 42 degrees of the equator, there's a chance you may be able to spot LightSail 2's reflective solar sail.

LightSail 2 dark knight pic

LightSail 2 Nears 2 Weeks of Solar Sailing
The high point of the spacecraft's orbit around the Earth on Monday was 729 kilometers, an increase of 3.2 kilometers since sail deployment.

LightSail 2 During Sail Deployment Sequence (Camera 1)

LightSail 2 Spacecraft Successfully Demonstrates Flight by Light
In the past 4 days, the spacecraft has raised its orbital high point, or apogee, by about 2 kilometers.

LS2 first sail pic

LightSail 2 Successfully Deploys Solar Sail
Images from The Planetary Society's spacecraft confirm the solar sails deployed on 23 July 2019 at 11:47 PDT (18:47 UTC).

LS2 deployed sail

Live Coverage: LightSail 2 Sail Deployment
Visit planetary.org/live for video and audio from mission control, located at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California.

Earth pic with Mexico

LightSail 2 Sail Deployment Scheduled for Tuesday
The target ground station pass for deployment starts 23 July 2019 at roughly 11:22 PDT (18:22 UTC).

Mexico from LightSail 2

LightSail 2 Team Continues Tweaks and Tests for Sail Deployment
Spare bandwidth during ground station passes has allowed flight controllers to downlink 2 new high-resolution images.

Earth from LightSail 2

LightSail 2 Team to Conduct More Testing before Sail Deployment
Sail deployment is now scheduled for no earlier than 21 July 2019.

LightSail 2 see Earth

Here are the First Pictures of Earth from LightSail 2
Pictures taken by the spacecraft's cameras Friday evening show a crescent Earth, as LightSail 2 heads into orbital sunset.

LightSail 2 dashboard

See the Latest Data from LightSail 2 on Our New Mission Control Dashboard
Would you like to see the latest data from The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft—possibly before flight controllers have even seen it? Now you can!

LightSail 2

LightSail 2 Healthy as Mission Team Continues Spacecraft Checkouts
The mission team is working through a 73-step checklist to check out the spacecraft’s systems and perform various tests.

LightSail 2 first contact

First Contact! LightSail 2 Phones Home to Mission Control
The mission team received LightSail 2's first signals on 2 July at 01:34 PDT (08:34 UTC), as the spacecraft passed over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California.

Liftoff of LightSail 2

LightSail 2 Has Launched!
The Planetary Society's solar sail CubeSat lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 25 June at 02:30 EDT (06:30 UTC).