THE dream of propelling spacecraft across the Solar System using “sails” that catch streams of photons from the Sun could become a reality, thanks to a new technique that allows the delicate sails to be made in space.
NASA is considering several lightweight spacecraft designs that feature components made of gossamer – a strong but elastic polymer only a few micrometres thick that can be made into sheets thousands of times lighter than their aluminium equivalent. The original idea was to send folded sheets of the material into orbit, where they would be unfurled to protect spacecraft from space dust…
