To reach Earth’s closest star system, Alpha Centauri, scientists are building a laser-powered spacecraft. To pull off ...

Semiconductor lasers are a key component in numerous emerging photonics-enabled technologies, including additive manufacturing, data centers for artificial intelligence, inertial navigation, optical ...

S pacecraft have always been expensive to launch, largely because of the weight of the fuel they need once in orbit. NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail experiment, launched in April, aims to ...

Each additional photon that hits the sail adds to its momentum, helping the spacecraft gain speed in the vacuum of space. Solar sails could be advantageous on numerous fronts, per Futurism ’s ...

A NASA spacecraft erected a large, foil solar sail in orbit around Earth last week, after a failed attempt days earlier. However, subsequent observations of the spacecraft show it is "tumbling or ...

Solar Sail Takes Flight! Japan Launches 1st ‘Spaceship’ Powered by Sunshine May 23, 2024 By Elizabeth Taylor Aviation News No Comments Imagine a giant kite floating in space, but instead of wind, it ...

Once it arrives, the spacecraft will unroll its booms and deploy its sail. It'll take about 25 minutes to deploy the sail, with a photon-gathering area of 80 square meters, or about 860 square feet.

On January 30, the solar sail aced its final test and successfully deployed one quadrant along a 100-foot-long boom. NASA says the technology is now TRL (technology readiness level) 6, meaning it ...

Look out for the Nike Air Penny 2 “Photon Dust” arriving this summer for $200 USD at select retailers and at Nike. In other footwear news, on-feet look at the Nike Dunk High “Gold Canvas.” ...