solar sail

A solar sail vessel would merely enter the stream and hitch a ride, like a paper airplane drifting into the wind made by an electric fan.

some aspects of such a mission might actually be easier than trying to fly a solar sail in low - earth orbit , but others are harder.

With solar sail technology, it's easy to imagine manned and unmanned spacecraft traversing the solar system.

Mission controllers have to account for the solar sail's spin rate, distance to the sun and the sun angle to plot the spacecraft's course.

Other groups around the world are expected to launch solar sail demonstrators soon.

IKAROS launched in May and soon after became the first solar sail to be fully propelled by sunlight.

JAXA's Tsuda noted, though, that current solar sail technology is not suitable for manned missions.

But Tsuda and his team hope the solar sail-powered craft will continue even farther, flying for as long as possible.

Dr. Shirley said that the solar sail was feasible and that the only question was, "Do you want to spend some money? "

Still, the new technology may not win solar-sail races any time soon.

Update: The Planetary Society plans to launch a 105-square-foot solar-sail craft into space this fall.

In principle, a solar sail can do anything a regular sail can do, like tacking.

Dr Lappas's satellite-removal system employs a solar sail.

Solar-sail ships go faster the longer they travel.

But the right solar sail can take you much, much farther.

As we look to our future amid the stars, solar sail technology gives us a similar opportunity: the chance to hitch a ride on light.

First Solar Sail to be Launched into Orbit from Russian Submarine

Current status of solar sail propulsion and analysis of its key techniques

The interaction between the radiant field and the solar sail

Optical performance evolution of solar sail-driven lunar probe

Smart glass helps pioneering solar sail to steer

Review of Solar Sail Craft Technology