Solar sailing is an innovative concept in spacecraft propulsion that utilizes the pressure of sunlight to propel spacecraft through space. This method offers a unique advantage as it does not ...

The mission is designed to test solar sail technology to help NASA develop larger spacecraft in the future using this next-generation propulsion system. Solar sails work similarly to nautical ...

Instead, it would literally fall into the sun. To stay in such an orbit, a spacecraft would need another constant outward force. A solar sail could provide that continuous push, and the ...

Abstract: An integrated simulation system for solar sail spacecraft with individually controllable elements (SSICE) is investigated in this paper, including the modelling of power management, thermal ...

Novelists, poets, and scientists have envisioned spacecraft powered by solar sails since the 1600s. But now this fanciful concept is actually entering into reality.

It works similarly to how wind pushes against a sail on a boat. So too can sunlight push against a spacecraft to propel it through space. Incidentally, we call these spacecraft solar sails.