NanoSail-D was a small satellite which was to have been used by NASA's Ames Research Center to study the deployment of a solar sail in space.
The launch was conducted by SpaceX, and also carried a space burial payload (Celestis-07) for Celestis.
Two minutes and forty seconds after launch, the spent first stage of the rocket was jettisoned; however, unexpected residual thrust caused it to recontact the second stage, which resulted in the rocket being thrown off course.
Unable to achieve orbit, the rocket and payloads fell into the Pacific Ocean.
Solar sail CubeSats This article about one or more spacecraft of the United States is a stub.