Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Long before anyone considered exploring space with thrusters ...

Artist's concept of the Planetary Society's LightSail CubeSat in orbit. LightSail suffered a software glitch shortly after its May 20, 2015 launch but came back online after about a week of silence. A ...

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. Space ...

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 outlook wasn ...

In orbit since 2019, LightSail 2 is expected to burn up in the atmosphere at some point within the next few months. Reading time 3 minutes For the past three years, a tiny loaf-of-bread-sized ...

LightSail 2 will be very shiny after it deploys its sail. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. The Planetary Society's solar-sailing ...

The LightSail 2 solar-powered spacecraft is officially operational — it’s now in orbit and made its first contact with Earth on Tuesday. You’ll now be able to track the ship live using an online ...

The latest experiment to explore the concept of “solar sailing” — space travel propelled by particles of quantum light that radiate from our sun — will take place next week as scientists test a ...