The Deployable Alaska Research Sail (DARS) aims to demonstrate successful deployment of a large scale solar sail zero gravity. Solar sails operate under the influence of radiation pressure distribution across a sail to provide a change in velocity. Using radiation pressure from the sun, solar sails are theoretically capable of infinite delta-V and can be used on a variety of missions. The DARS team seeks to mature solar sail technology to enable more complex and elaborate CubeSat missions.
Development started in late 2015; various deployment concepts and sail shapes were analyzed to determine the optimal system. The spacecraft will be composed of three main sections, the board stack module, sail compartment housing, and boom deployment mechanism. The spacecraft currently aims to deploy a 40-square meter solar using four deployable booms.
