NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) can be seen with the naked eye as it orbits Earth, and can be tracked with a helpful app. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On April 23, NASA launched ...

NASA has launched the latest attempt to test solar sail propulsion technology. The ACS3’s solar sail is made of a reflective polymer and is held by a boom made of carbon fiber composite material.

Over the last two decades, Les Johnson and his team of engineers have quietly been pushing NASA into a new era of space exploration while nobody was paying attention. As an engineer at the legendary ...

On September 5, NASA shared the first image captured of its solar sail prototype spacecraft flying in space. While solar sail technology is still in the early stages of development, it could ...

NASA plans to build larger solar sails that can generate more thrust. A new unique composite carbon fiber booms, the ACS3 system has the potential to support sails as large as 2,000 square meters, or ...

A microwave-sized spacecraft with large silver wings is tumbling in orbit as engineers work to fix a glitch that’s causing it to lose orientation. After deploying four composite booms on board the ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. NASA hitched a ride aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron Launcher in New ...

A new kind of solar power: NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System recently hitched a ride to space on Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle. The spacecraft survived the trip and successfully ...

NASA has launched the latest attempt to test solar sail propulsion technology. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3), consisting of a CubeSat the size of a microwave oven and a solar sail, ...