Nasa has unfurled a solar sail in space for the first time, aiming to harness the propulsive power of sunlight for interstellar travel. The US space agency revealed that it had deployed the solar sail ...

Solar sails have some major advantages over traditional propulsion methods—most notably, they don't use any propellant. But, ...

An experimental NASA solar sail can be seen in the night sky as it orbits the Earth. NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) launched in April 2024 atop a Rocket Lab Electron rocket. The ...

Depending on the mission they've been created to fulfill spacecraft can be powered by a variety of technologies. Presently, the most widespread is the one that uses propellant and rocket engines. But ...

A solar sail is designed to capture the tiny amounts of radiation pressure exerted by sunlight to propel a spacecraft to incredible speeds. The advantages are numerous: by acting like a sailing ship ...

It was back in May we last heard about NASA launching its Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, which if successful could revolutionize space travel in the solar system and perhaps even further out ...

NASA is about to test its Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, which if is successful will unlock a new method of cheap space travel in the solar system and perhaps even beyond. On April 23 NASA ...

A variety of sailcraft missions are in the works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Solar sailing can be a relatively slow-motion ...

For a number of years now NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has been the driving force behind some of space exploration’s craziest, most spectacular, and daring ideas born in the ...

The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft remains in orbit a year after its launch, and project managers say active control of the sail has enabled the satellite to remain in orbit longer than ...

Turns out, it's as tough to drop inward into the inner solar system, as it is to head outward. The problem stems from losing momentum from a launch starting point on Earth. It can take missions ...