Patent ID: 11905044
Assignee: L'GARDE, INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 10:
11. A solar sail, comprising:
a bus; and
a plurality of separate vanes, each of the plurality of separate vanes movably coupled to the bus by a support frame of the vane, and each of the plurality of separate vanes defining a reflective surface for using solar radiation pressure to propel the solar sail in space,
wherein the support frame of each of the plurality of separate vanes includes a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration, and
wherein each connection between the bus and a vane of the plurality of separate vanes has a first rotational degree of freedom about an axis of symmetry of the vane and a second rotational degree of freedom orthogonal to the first rotational degree of freedom in a fully deployed configuration.