Very cool.... free propulsion.

"All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by."

John Masefield

PAX

Naw, dude, that was Capn' Crunch from the first episode o' Star Wars...."Indian Joe and the Temple of Spam".

Too cool. I've read about them for years. It's great to see a real one.

In Larry Niven's "The Mote in God's Eye" a light sail is used, but it is propelled by a laser. This way the vehicle can pick up speed faster. No worries about an engine break down, either. The "engine" would be in orbit and could be repaired locally.

There is no reason these sails can't measure in the square miles and really get moving. Point it at a distant star and let our sun propel it and use the target star for deceleration. The first interstellar probes we use will probably use this for propulsion with possibly an ion drive for booster power.

There is no reason these sails can't measure in the square miles and really get moving. Point it at a distant star and let our sun propel it and use the target star for deceleration. The first interstellar probes we use will probably use this for propulsion with possibly an ion drive for booster power.

There is something satisfying about the idea that we would use light sails to navigate the stars in that it reflects (pun intended) how we sailed the seas for thousands of years.

Perhaps our developments in space travel will parallel our development on the ocean.

Rockets Drive = row boats and rafts

Ships with solar sails = schooners and clippers

Self contained Powered star-ships = Steam/combustion engine/nuclear power ships.

Interesting stuff.

PAX