Solar Sail countdown, this week on planetary radio. Radio.

Hi everyone, welcome to Public Radio's travel show that takes you to the Final Frontier. I'm Matt Kaplan.

As you hear this, Cosmos 1, the world's first solar

sail, may be orbiting the Earth. Heck, as far as we know it may be the first one in the Galaxy.

Our program was put together just before the scheduled June 21 launch from a Russian submarine.

By next week, the Planetary Society and its partners hope to be celebrating as they pilot the sail through space.

We'll get a last minute update from Project Head Lou Friedman in just a couple of minutes,

followed by a conversation with the mission's science and data systems coordinator Greg Delore.

Even what's up gets caught up in the anticipatory mood, although Bruce Betts and I still find time for a show and tell-tell session, along with this week's space trivia contest.

Yes, yes, there is other space news this week.

Oh, you'd like to hear some, would you?

All right, you're the boss. The European Space Agency's

Mars Express Orbiter has achieved another success with deployment of the second

of three spindly booms. This one is 20 meters or more than 65 feet long. If deployment of the

third boom goes well, the spacecraft will start beaming radar at the surface of the red planet looking for water beneath

the surface. Details are at planetary.org.

Those intrepid planet finders just get better and better at what they do.

UC Berkeley's Jeff Marcy has announced discovery of a rocky body that's only seven or

so times the size of Earth.

Unfortunately, the planet is thoroughly roasted by its star, so we can't expect to find

any life there.

And Space Shuttle Discovery has made it back out to Pad 39A with a new and improved external tank. The launch window opens in

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