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 ...

More than four months after launching to space, a solar-sailing spacecraft has successfully spread its wings above our planet. Just like the wind guides a sailboat on the water, it only takes a slight ...

Video shows NASA's futuristic solar sail technology prototype. Like a sail on the ocean propels a boat with the wind, this ...

Solar sailing has moved from science fiction concept to working hardware, and now a new generation of entrepreneurs wants to ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

It takes a lot of power to get a spacecraft through Earth’s atmosphere and out of its gravity. But once a craft has reached orbit, it requires relatively little power to move through space. In fact, ...

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 ...