By Jason Davis | Journalist and Digital Editor
We’ve turned the delay in the launch of LightSail 2 into opportunity by using the extra time this past year to do additional testing and make a number of hardware and software upgrades to the spacecraft. This process wound down to a close over the summer, and our integration contractor, Ecliptic, has now buttoned-up the LightSail 2 spacecraft for a scheduled delivery to our partners at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on October 9, 2017. It will remain at Cal Poly for a number of weeks before being transported to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for integration later this fall with Prox-1.
While we are excited to reach this important milestone, we continue to wait for news regarding our launch date. SpaceX is moving toward the test launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket (anticipated sometime this winter). Following a successful launch, the schedule for commercial launches next year is expected to come into focus. At present, we have been given a “no earlier than” launch date of April 30, 2018.
LIGHTSAIL BLOGS @ SAIL.PLANETARY.ORG
Always stay up-to-date! We’ve pointed to our dedicated LightSail micro-site in past updates, but it’s always to good to have a reminder! Launched back when our LightSail 1 rocketed into orbit, our dedicated web pages at sail.planetary.org are the best place to keep-up on blogs and all other LightSail news and information.
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