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Photos: Bill Nye ‘the Science Guy’ visits Cal Poly

Kyle McCarty
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Bill Nye, “the Science Guy,” made a visit to Cal Poly on Wednesday for a planned demonstration of a solar sailing satellite built in collaboration with students.

Nye is the CEO of The Planetary Society, which is managing the development of the satellite. Nye, famous for hosting a science television show for children in the 1990s, chatted with students involved in the project, and even took selfies with those that requested it.

The simulation had to be postponed until next week, however, after problems occurred with the radio transmitter. The plan was to unfurl the satellite’s thin mylar solar sails, as well as test the satellite’s ability to transmit to the ground station at Cal Poly.

The satellite, called LightSail, explores whether solar sails are a viable technology for driving a satellite.

LightSail, with the solar sail folded up. - Kyle McCarty/Mustang News — LightSail, with the solar sail folded up.

Doug Stetson, the program manager for LightSail, said that a solar sail is like “free propulsion,” since it does not require the weight, cost and complexity of a typical rocket based spacecraft.

“The wind in space is solar radiation pressure, it’s the faint pressure of sunlight,” Stetson said. “It builds up over a long period of time and allows us to reach very high speeds.”

Doug Stetson, pictured in front of the table where the satellites sail will be unfurled. - Kyle McCarty/Mustang News — Stetson, pictured in front of the table where the satellite’s sail will be unfurled.

Lightsail is based around Cal Poly’s CubeSat satellites, the small satellite standard created in collaboration with Stanford University, used by the university to give students hands on experience in space exploration and research. Stetson said LightSail chose to partner with Cal Poly because of the university’s experience with CubeSat.

Bill Nye met with Cal Poly students involved with LightSail and CubeSat. - Kyle McCarty/Mustang News — Bill Nye met with Cal Poly students involved with LightSail and CubeSat.

Zach Frangos, mechanical engineering junior, took a selfie with Nye.

“Planetary Society got involved in this solar sail business because first of all, it is romantic, it is an amazing idea. You have no rocket engine,” Nye said. — “Planetary Society got involved in this solar sail business because first of all, it is romantic; it is an amazing idea,” Nye said. “You have no rocket engine.”

“Students would no longer, or anybody, would no longer be limited to low earth orbit. They’d be able to go—pick a place, the moon, Mars—and you’d be able to do it relatively cheaply,” Nye said. — “Students would no longer — or anybody, would no longer — be limited to low earth orbit,” he said. “They’d be able to go — pick a place, the moon, Mars — and you’d be able to do it relatively cheaply.”

Graduate aerospace engineer MC Gonzalez-Dorbecker gets a photo with Nye.

Photos by Kyle McCarty/Mustang News.

August 21, 2014