Znamya

Znamya was a project to develop and test large spin stabilized thin-film mirrors in space. Two orbital experiments were performed, Znamya 2 and Znamya 2.5. Znamya 2 was a success, deploying a 20-m spinning circular mirror from a Progress resupply spacecraft after it visited the Russian Mir space station. The Progress spacecraft was used to steer the sail, under control by cosmonauts onboard Mir, and reflect a spot of sunlight down on the Earth. Znamya 2.5 was built to be an improved version of Znamya 2. It failed to deploy completely.

Links

• Space Regatta Consortium project description
• Wikipedia article
• Images and movies
• Analysis of the Znamya 2.5 failure
• BBC News coverage
• February 5, 1999, news coverage
• February 4, 1999, news coverage