🚀 go-pugleaf

  There is a race being planned by the World Space Foundation (Federation?)
from geosynchronous orbit to the moon.  (At least it was planned as of
November.)  They were hoping to get it off by 1995.  As of November they had
3 entrants, I think the French, the Japanese, and the WSF itself.  The 
Russians were trying to get together a team.
  I expect that there are financial problems, but I don't know for certain.
I have seen pictures of a sail the WSF actually built; it looked like it was
about 50 meters on a side.  It was a square design, which surprised me; the
heliogyro design, developed by R. H. Macneal (at JPL?) has several advantages,
including stability (its spinning), and ease of deployment.  The design looks
something like a helicopter rotor, with long narrow blades that can be pitched
about their lengthwise axis for control.  Heliogyros are also lighter per area
than sails that have to be rigidized by mechanical means.

  It's true that solar sails don't function very efficiently in planetary
orbits, but there are some benefits for having the first real trial with them
close to home.  Most notably, if anything goes wrong there won't be much of
a control delay due to speed of light transmission.

   			Dave Patterson, guest on this account