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This website contains information on solar sailing, an old idea but a new technology for moving around and doing things in space. Solar sails are very large and lightweight mirrors that are pushed through space by sunlight. Traditionally, spacecraft have used rockets or thrusters, which propel material in one direction to travel in the other. To learn more, take a look through the sections listed below.
Latest news February 22, 2006: Japan launches a secondary solar sail payload with the ASTRO-F infrared telescope satellite.
February 8, 2006: NASA's Centennial Challenges program seeks input on new prize competitions. Includes a solar sail stationkeeping prize.
November 14, 2005: Space Services Inc. awarded contract from NOAA to assess next generation solar wind and advanced telecommunications systems. The Planetary Society discusses the Cosmos 1 mission launch failure and the future of their solar sail project. The JAXA Hayabusa asteroid mission's use of solar pressure is discussed.
August 4, 2005: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center press release and photos of L'Garde's 20-meter solar sail tested at the NASA Glenn Plum Brook Station.
