File:IKAROS_solar_sail.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
solar sail
Sign in to saveAlso known as light sail, photon sail
type of spacecraft propulsion that takes advantage of solar radiation
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
IKAROS, the first space-probe with a solar sail in flight (artist's depiction), featuring a typical square sail configuration of almost 200 m
Solar sails (also known as lightsails, light sails, and photon sails) are a method of spacecraft propulsion using radiation pressure exerted by sunlight on large surfaces. A number of spaceflight missions to test solar propulsion and navigation have been proposed since the 1980s. The two spacecraft to successfully use the technology for propulsion were IKAROS, launched in 2010, and LightSail-2, launched in 2019. A further demonstrator, Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3), was launched in 2024, and deployed successfully but is not being actively controlled due to a fault.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “solar sail” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.