FastSat spacecraft

Artist rendition of the FastSat spacecraft (FastSat is an acronym for "fast, affordable, science and technology satellite"). In an age of budgetary constraints, this was NASA's attempt to prove it could build a low-cost satellite to conduct experiements in space. Since launching in November 2010, FastSat has turned in an impressive record. Perhaps its most noted experiment involved the January 2011 deployment of a compact solar sail boom.