NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) caught a ride to space on April 24 on Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle and, at the end of August, NASA shared in a release that its mission ...

To stay in such an orbit, a spacecraft would need another constant outward force. A solar sail could provide that continuous push, and the instruments on board could detect a CME and send us a ...

and a large solar sail would entirely control the mission. Current warning times for solar storms are only a few minutes at best, as the detectors watching for them are located in Low Earth Orbit.

The satellite is the space agency's first attempt at utilizing solar sails in low-Earth orbit, and may mark a huge step towards achievable interstellar travel. NanoSail-D will be NASA's first ...