The idea seems totally crazy: A spacecraft with no active propulsion system that can travel through space using light in the same way that a sailboat uses wind. Physics tells us it’s possible, but until scientists could prove it, it remained a good idea on paper only.
Now, with the launch of the crowdfunded LightSail 2, we can finally see the innovative theory put into practice. In a news release from the Planetary Society, researchers declare the LightSail 2 a success, with measurements showing that the spacecraft has indeed begun to travel away from the Earth after unfurling its solar sail.
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Solar sails actually work, and LightSail 2 just proved it originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 1 Aug 2019 at 18:35:52 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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