Lightsail-2, a crowdfunded
project of The Planetary Society, was able to increase the height of its orbit
after unfurling its solar sail in late July. With no fueled propulsion system,
the maneuver proved the mission's main goal of showing that satellites may be
powered in space by photons from the sun. This means that small cubesats might
be powered by sunlight in the future, not only for electronics but for propulsion
as well.
According to the AMSAT News Service, Lightsail-2 has a beacon
transmitter on 437.025 MHz, operating under experimental call sign WM9XPA. The
beacon transmits 9600-baud packet (AX.25). More details may be found at <
https://tinyurl.com/y5r6758v>.
