Setting sail

The Planetary Society, a privately funded US space organisation, plans to
launch a solar sail into space by the end of the year. Solar sails propel
spacecraft simply through the pressure of photons from the Sun on the sail. The
society will first test its sail in April aboard a Russian missile launched from
a nuclear submarine. The society’s efforts could upstage the European Space
Agency which plans to test a sail within 12 months (New Scientist, 24 February,
p 42). Solar sail expert Colin McInnes of the University of Glasgow says, “There
are missions people want to do…