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In orbit since 2019, LightSail 2 is expected to burn up in the atmosphere at some point within the next few months. Reading time 3 minutes For the past three years, a tiny loaf-of-bread-sized ...

The LightSail 2 solar-powered spacecraft is officially operational — it’s now in orbit and made its first contact with Earth on Tuesday. You’ll now be able to track the ship live using an online ...

Last week, the LightSail 2 officially made its first contact with Earth. The solar-powered spacecraft will be sailing around Earth’s orbit for the next year, all part of a mission to prove that solar ...

An experimental spacecraft testing solar sails as a means of cost-effective space propulsion that could power future missions to distant places is still riding the sunbeams in Earth's orbit more than ...

Inside a converted firehouse in Oakland, Calif. sits a Willy Wonka-like contraption sprouting pistons, crankshafts and cylinders connected to a pipe running through a wall to a large tank that squats ...

It wasn't exactly smooth sailing, but The Planetary Society's cubesat got the job done in the end. The tiny LightSail spacecraft overcame a battery problem — the second glitch it suffered after ...

The latest experiment to explore the concept of “solar sailing” — space travel propelled by particles of quantum light that radiate from our sun — will take place next week as scientists test a ...