Abstract
A solar sail race to the moon is no longer a dream. The launch is scheduled in early 1990’s. But its flight control has several problems to be overcome. One major concern is its sail steering strategy. Even when the sail direction is computed, with various disturbances especially due to the flexible nature of the sail, the actual maneuver using a very faint control torque is extremely difficult. Although the baseline design itself is premature, through carefully examining key parameters and evaluating the control capability, a typical orbital profile is generated, and the feasibility of the race is investigated.
