solar sail
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Watch as NASA Launches Solar Sail to Test Sunlight-Propelled Space Travel
A new experimental mission by NASA is ready to set sail in orbit, using photons from the Sun to propel its way to higher altitudes. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) is scheduled for launch on Tuesday during a launch window that opens at 6 p.m. ET. The mission will lift off on board…
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Newly Launched Solar Sail Is on Track to Unfurl in Low Earth Orbit
A new spacecraft could soon be soaring through Earth’s orbit while gently being pushed by photons emitted from the Sun.
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New Tower in China Brings Us a Step Closer to Space-Based Solar Power
Researchers at China’s Xidian University are claiming to have completed testing and inspection of a ground array that could pave the way to space-based solar power — a concept long heralded as a potential solution to our energy woes.
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NASA Funds Interstellar Probe and Space Habitats Made From Fungi
The latest round of NASA funding to boost the development of advanced concepts includes a space-based neutrino detector, an interstellar probe powered by solar sails, and a radio telescope built inside a crater on the far side of the Moon.