Ohio lab tests space propulsion system
SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) - Scientists working with a synthetic material 100 times thinner than a piece of paper are testing their theory that the sun can power interplanetary spacecraft.
They believe that streams of solar energy particles called photons can push a giant, reflecting sail through space the way wind pushes sailboats across water.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has invested about $30 million in space-sail technology, something that existed solely in science-fiction novels a decade ago. Yet the reflective solar sail could power missions to the sun and beyond within a decade.
posted by eric at 9:41 AM
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