Editing Cosmos 1 (section)

== Planned mission profile ==
To test the solar sail concept, the Cosmos 1 project launched an [[Orbital spaceflight|orbital spacecraft]] they named ''Cosmos 1'' with a full complement of eight sail blades on 21 June 2005; the summer [[solstice]]. The spacecraft had a mass of {{cvt|100|kg}} and consisted of eight triangular sail blades, which would be deployed from a central hub after launch by the inflating of structural tubes. The sail blades were each {{cvt|15|m}} long, had a total surface area of {{cvt|600|m2}}, and were made of [[metallized polyethylene terephthalate|aluminized-reinforced PET film (MPET)]].

The spacecraft was launched on a [[Volna]] [[launch vehicle]] (a converted [[SS-N-18]] [[intercontinental ballistic missile]] (ICBM)) from the [[Russia]]n [[Delta-class submarine|Delta III submarine]] {{ship|Russian submarine|Borisoglebsk|K-496|2}}, submerged in the [[Barents Sea]]. The spacecraft's initial circular orbit would have been at an altitude of about {{cvt|800|km}}, where it would have unfurled the sails. The sails would then have gradually raised the spacecraft to a higher Earth orbit. "''Cosmos 1'' might boost its orbit {{cvt|50|to|100|km}} over the expected 30-day life of the mission", said Louis Friedman of The Planetary Society.<ref name=Deprecated-Original-Article>{{cite news|title=Solar Sail|first=Thomas H. II|last=Maugh|first2=Monte|last2=Morin|date=20 June 2005 |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-solarsail20jun20,1,2584884.story?coll=la-news-science&ctrack=1&cset=true|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=20 June 2005}}</ref><ref name=Archived-Article-Abstract>{{cite news|title=Solar Sail Is in Space, but Where?; The Planetary Society loses contact with the satellite but detects a faint signal hours later.|first=Thomas H. II|last=Maugh|author2=Morin, Monte|date=2005-06-22|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/856856791.html?dids=856856791:856856791&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+22%2C+2005&author=Thomas+H.+Maugh+II+and+Monte+Morin&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=A.1&desc=Solar+Sail+Is+in+Space%2C+but+Where%3F%3B+The+Planetary+Society+loses+contact+with+the+satellite+but+detects+a+faint+signal+hours+later|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525093221/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/856856791.html?dids=856856791:856856791&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+22,+2005&author=Thomas+H.+Maugh+II+and+Monte+Morin&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=A.1&desc=Solar+Sail+Is+in+Space,+but+Where%3F%3B+The+Planetary+Society+loses+contact+with+the+satellite+but+detects+a+faint+signal+hours+later|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 May 2011|access-date=2007-09-04}}</ref>

The mission was expected to end within a month of launch, as the [[BoPET|mylar]] of the blades would degrade in sunlight.

=== Possible beam propulsion ===
The solar-sail craft could also have been used to measure the effect of artificial [[microwave]]s aimed at it from a [[radar]] installation. A {{cvt|70|m}} dish at the [[Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex|Goldstone]] facility of [[NASA Deep Space Network]] would have been used to irradiate the sail with a 450 [[Watt|kW]] beam. This experiment in [[beam-powered propulsion]] would only have been attempted after the prime mission objective of controlled solar-sail flight was achieved.

=== Tracking ===
The craft would have been visible to the [[naked eye]] from most of the Earth's surface: the planned orbit had an [[Orbital inclination|inclination]] of 80°, so it would have been visible from [[latitude]]s of up to approximately 80° north and south.

A network of tracking stations around the world, including the [[Tarusa]] station, {{cvt|121|km}} south of [[Moscow]], and the [[Space Sciences Laboratory]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], tried to maintain contact with the solar sail during the mission. Mission control was based primarily at the Russian company [[NPO Lavochkin]] in Moscow; a center that the Planetary Society calls Mission Operations Moscow (MOM).