Electric Sail Could Be the Fastest Man-Made Device Ever Built

The European union has selected the Finnish Meteorological Institute to lead an international space effort whose goal is to build the largest and fastest man-made device.

The electric sail is a Finnish invention which uses the solar wind as its thrust source and therefore needs no fuel or propellant. The solar wind is a continuous plasma stream emanating from the Sun.

The working principle of the so-called electric solar wind sail was invented in 2006 by Finnish Meteorological Institute researcher Pekka Janhunen.

In December 8-9, 2010, the kickoff meeting of the electric sail EU project was held at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The meeting gathered space scientists and engineers from Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Germany and Italy.

The ESAIL project will last for three years, its EU funding contribution is 1.7 million euros and its goal is to build the laboratory prototypes of the key components of the electric sail. In the EU evaluation, the ESAIL project got the highest marks in its category.

Electric Sail Could Be the Fastest Man-Made Device Ever Built | Electric Vehicle News