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

Among the many spacecraft and satellites ascending to space on Monday's Falcon Heavy launch, the Planetary Society's LightSail 2 may be the most interesting. If all goes well, a week from launch ...

According to the scientists behind the project, LightSail 2 has successfully raised the highest point of its orbit, and it did so without any conventional built-in propulsion system.

LightSail-1 is envisioned as the first of a trio of solar sail craft in a project boosted by an anonymous $1 million donation, according to the space advocacy organization co-founded by the late ...

On May 20, if all goes well, the first private spacecraft built to sail on sunlight will soar into the heavens from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The spacecraft is called LightSail and is a project of the ...

The Planetary Society and its partners in the LightSail project always knew that this LightSail would fall victim to atmospheric drag within days of deploying its 344-square-foot (32-square-meter ...

Washington, D.C. –“We’re back!” said Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society. “With an even more ambitious solar sail program than our last venture… ...

The Planetary Society's tiny LightSail spacecraft has sent a photo of its deployed solar sail down to Earth, confirming that the cubesat's shakeout flight has been a complete success.

The LightSail project was crowdfunded on Kickstarter, raising an impressive $1.24 million. In this photo taken in 2005 at the 25th anniversary gala for The Planetary Society, ...

The project’s first test flight, delayed from an original launch date of May 6th, intends to prove that LightSail can successfully unfurl its Mylar sheeting. If all goes to plan, a second ...