Did you know the world's first spacecraft driven by a solar sail is due to launch next year?

[lethargic_man]

http://planetary.org/solarsail/update_20040811.html (link from NASA)

Comments

[liv]

That is so very cool. So glad you pointed it out. That's very much one of the proposed technologies that most grabbed my imagination from the SF I read as a kid.

Solar sails

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

Yes, but it's so retro. Why use a physical solar sail prone to jamming or tearing when you can use a much cooler plasma sail (http://archive.newscientist.com/secure/article/article.jsp?rp=1&id=mg16322024.700)?