Bill Nye the Science Guy has seen and experienced a lot, but to watch him geek out over the LightSail test mission’s launch is making us choke up a little over here in Geek Land.
In this new video, the Planetary Society takes us behind the scenes of LightSail’s May 20 launch. Footage follows Nye and his team visiting Cape Canaveral and getting excited to become a part of space exploration history.
Nye talks about how Carl Sagan’s solar sailing inspired him, as he was in his class almost 40 years ago.
“We have finally at the Planetary Society realized this dream of flying through space with propulsion provided by nothing but sunlight,” Nye says in the video.
“Once you’re up there and you’ve got your sail deployed, you could get a push from the sun indefinitely, so that’s why there’s a few missions that solar sailing is just ideal for.”
“This is a big day for the Planetary Society — it’s a big deal,” Nye says, thanking the launch crew. “It’s part of the legacy, getting our little space craft in orbit, on orbit, is a wonderful thing.”
The test mission was launched aboard the Atlas V rocket, and despite a few bumps, including need a cosmic restart and its battery blacking out on communications, it made it, successfully completing its mission and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere in mid-June.
Next up: LightSail’s second mission and 2016 launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. The Kickstarter to launch that project has already met its stretch goal, raising more than $1.2 million this summer.
Here’s hoping the next launch is as inspiring as this one.
