The LightSail 2 is a tiny craft, just about the size of a loaf of bread, but is similar to the CubeSat size of 10 x 10 x 10 cm. Solar sailing could be used to adjust the orbit of a satellite or to ...

LightSail 2's 3.5-year mission came to an end on Nov. 17 when the sunshine-riding craft burned up upon reentry to Earth's atmosphere.

After three years in space, the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 mission burned up in the atmosphere on Thursday, November 17th. During its mission, the crowdfunded spacecraft made 18,000 orbits ...

Science Space Private Space Flight The solar-powered LightSail 2 spacecraft took one last look at Earth before burning up After 18,000 trips around the world, the spacecraft ends its journey.

After three years circling the Earth, the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 mission has come to an end following a fiery reentry. The satellite was an important tech demo for solar sailing, which ...

The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 launched in June 2019 and unfurled its 344-square-foot (32-square-meter) solar sail a month later. Just two weeks after spreading its wings, LightSail 2 ...

LightSail 2 has been orbiting Earth for eight months now, and it has captured some stunning shots of our home planet during that time. The Planetary Society built the spacecraft, which launched in ...

LightSail 2 is not humanity’s first success at sailing on sunbeams. That honor goes to IKAROS, a roughly 50-foot by 50-foot Japanese spacecraft weighing hundreds of pounds.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A solar sail project led by Purdue University professor David Spencer was named as one of Time magazine’s Best Inventions 2019. The LightSail 2 project launched into space ...

LightSail 2 is the first mission to demonstrate controlled solar sailing in Earth orbit. The Best Inventions 2019 is a list of 100 items that, according to Time magazine, make “the world better, ...