Ultralight Self-Deployable Solar Sails

Deployment of large structures such as solar sails relies typically upon electromechanical mechanisms, mechanically expandable or inflatable booms, launch restraints, controls, and other mechanisms that drastically increase the total mass, stowage volume, and areal density. The primary performance parameter for solar sails is areal density, which determines the acceleration of the sail. Present technology allows the solar sail areal density to be around 20 g/m2, and that permits only nearby demonstration missions.