solar sailing
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Solar-powered LightSail spacecraft is ready for its second flight
When the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches this summer, it will carry the Planetary Society's Carl Sagan-inspired LightSail 2. You may remember LightSail as a crowdfunded, experimental "solar sail." The unique craft looks something like a giant kite, and it was envisioned as a way to guide satellites around space using energy from the sun, rather than chemical fuel. The first LightSail took flight in 2015, and now the Planetary Society is ready to launch LightSail 2, which has worked out a few bugs and will provide an opportunity to further test solar sailing.
