Nearly 70 years after the launch of the first satellite, we still have more questions than answers about space. But a team of Berkeley researchers is on a mission to change this with a proposal to ...

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 ...

Over the last two decades, Les Johnson and his team of engineers have quietly been pushing NASA into a new era of space exploration while nobody was paying attention. As an engineer at the legendary ...

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 ...

April 22 (UPI) --NASA is gearing up for a launch this week that will test a new way to navigate the solar system, using a large sail to catch the sunlight. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is ...

In sci-fi literature and movies spacecraft powered by solar sails are pretty common. They are easy to make and fly, they require no on-board fuel to run and, given enough time, they have the potential ...

NASA is preparing to launch its massive solar sail into space on the back of a rocket to test the power of sunlight and determine whether it will be a viable means of propulsion to traverse the solar ...

Despite a failed first attempt, NASA deployed its pioneering solar sail system, which will harness energy from the Sun to propel itself forward through space. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System ...

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Artist's rendition of the upcoming NASA Solar Cruiser mission due to launch in February 2025, an example of the type of solar sail being developed for this most recent study. Credit: NASA Artist's ...

The ribbon solar sail will be a solar sail design using a thin film strip embedded with diffractive gratings. It is a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) project. This configuration leverages ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An experimental NASA solar sail can be seen in the night sky as it orbits the Earth. NASA's ...