About a month after it began orbiting the Earth and performing tests, LightSail 2 unfurled its sail on Wednesday. At full size, the sail is about as wide as a regulation boxing ring. For the next year, the satellite will use this sail to keep itself running as it performs tests and gathers data. If it proves viable, this method of solar transportation would be much cheaper and more sustainable than those currently used.
“Solar sailing is in its infancy, but it may become a game-changer,” Bill Nye told Digital Trends. “We’ll soon be able to send our solar sail spacecraft to all sorts of destinations in our solar system, and perhaps to another star system one day.”
