NASA's solar sail phones home before attempting revolutionary sunlight propulsion

NASA is about to test its Advanced Composite Solar Sail System, which if is successful will unlock a new method of cheap space travel in the solar system and perhaps even beyond.

On April 23 NASA launched a CubeSat on the back of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket. The rocket delivered the microwave-sized CubeSat to Sun-synchronous orbit approximately 600 miles above the surface of Earth. NASA writes in its blog the CubeSat is healthy and all communications are working, which means NASA can move on to the next stage of the mission - unfurling the spacecraft's solar sail that is approximately half the size of a tennis court.

The unfurling of the sail will occur after a "one- to two-month commissioning phase" in which NASA will prepare for the sails deployment and maneuvering test. Once all preparation is complete the solar sail will unroll across four boom arms that will outstretch in a diagonal fashion, forming the diagonals of a square shape - approximately 23 feet in length.

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Once unfurled the solar sail will test sunlight propulsion, or the means of using photons as a way of moving around in space. The idea is quite simple, the sun radiates photons continuously and in space when these photons hit the reflective surface of the solar sail they generate a tiny amount of momentum. This momentum is transferred into the sail and generates push. Now imagine millions of photons hitting the entire surface area of the sail.

Achieving maneuverability with this means of propulsion could mean humans have unlocked an extremely low-cost means of solar system transportation.