Solar sails could guide interplanetary travel, says new study (Update)
Space travel has brought us to our next-door neighbor, the moon, and to the depths of our larger solar community inhabited by giants such as Saturn and Jupiter.
News tagged with solar sailing
Optical lifting demonstrated for the first time (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists in New York have predicted, observed and experimentally verified a micrometer-scale object being lifted only by a beam of laser light. Optical lifting may be useful for powering micromachines or ...
Could solar wind power Earth?
(PhysOrg.com) -- As we strive to find sources of alternative energy, a number of researchers continue to look to what we consider the ultimate in renewable energy -- the sun. However, on earth creating efficient solar panels ...
IKAROS unfurls first ever solar sail in space
(PhysOrg.com) -- Japan's IKAROS has rolled out its solar sail, the first ever deployed in space. JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, achieved the feat by rotating the craft rapidly and spinning the sail out by centrifugal ...
Japan to launch 'space yacht' propelled by solar particles (Update)
Japan is to launch a "space yacht" propelled by solar particles that bounce off its kite-shaped sails, the country's space agency said Tuesday.
Space Exploration
Apr 27, 2010
12
0
Planetary Society plans new 'solar sail'
(AP) -- Four years after its first solar sail ended up in the ocean instead of orbit, The Planetary Society announced Monday that by the end of 2010 it will try again to launch a spacecraft that will be propelled by the ...
Space Exploration
Nov 9, 2009
1
0
Flight by Light: Mission accomplished for LightSail 2
Mission accomplished: the Planetary Society announced Wednesday that its LightSail 2 spacecraft, which was launched last month, had successfully raised its orbit using only the power of photons from the Sun.
Space Exploration
Aug 1, 2019
7
366
Sailing among the stars: how photons could revolutionize space flight
A few days from now, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will lift off from Florida, carrying a satellite the size of a loaf of bread with nothing to power it but a huge polyester "solar sail."
Space Exploration
Jun 20, 2019
10
5
LightSail's solar sails look good in latest deployment
The Planetary Society solar sail exploration called LightSail is looking good. The concept—a spacecraft designed to propel through space on beams of sunlight— pushed through by nothing but the pressure of sunlight—is ...
LightSail team prepares for tests of mylar space wonder
The concept of LightSail—spacecraft designed to propel through space on beams of sunlight— pushed through by nothing but the pressure of sunlight—has been around for years but this month made special news because the ...
