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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
A Marathon Day Two at the USA Science & Engineering Festival
Day Two of the USA Science & Engineering Festival, and it started with a game of
Lightsail 1 Lands on National Mall
The Planetary Society showcased our solar sail mission, Lightsail 1, at day one of the USA Science & Engineering Festival on Washington DC's National Mall.
Getting ready for the USA Science & Engineering Festival
The Planetary Society booth is ready to go for the USA Science & Engineering Festival being held this weekend on the National Mall in Washington DC.
LightSail Update: The International Solar Sailing Symposium
Japan's IKAROS team stole the show at the International Solar Sailing Symposium in New York City, where they announced that their spacecraft had achieved controlled solar sail flight.
Bill Nye Connects with Space People at IAC
The 61st International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is being held in Prague in the Czech Republic, and Bill Nye is attending on behalf of the Planetary Society.
LightSail team learns from IKAROS
While we were in New York for the International Solar Sailing Symposium last week, we held a meeting with the Japanese IKAROS team to discuss technical results and issues in our two projects.
From the Solar Sail Symposium in New York
This week, Bill Nye and I are attending the International Solar Sail Symposium at the New York College of Technology.
LightSail 1 Passes Critical Design Review
LightSail 1, the Planetary Society's new ultra-light Cubesat-based solar sail spacecraft, has passed its Critical Design Review.
Firming Up the Spacecraft Design
The LightSail 1 spacecraft development is proceeding well. Our engineering team has completed crucial milestones to building the vehicle that will demonstrate the value and potential of using sunlight alone to propel exploratory craft through space.
Akatsuki and IKAROS getting ready for launch, with your names aboard
I've been so focused on the dramatic return of
What Will Be the Top Space Story in 2010?
What do you think will be the top trend in space in 2010? In his Cosmic Log on MSNBC, Alan Boyle suggests that The Planetary Society's solar sailing project may be a contender.
LightSail Garners News Headlines
The Planetary Society's new solar sail project -- LightSail -- has generated headlines and hundreds of news stories since it was announced on Monday.
LightSail Featured on NPR's Science Friday
Our Executive Director Lou Friedman joins host Ira Flatow on NPR's Science Friday -- November 13 -- for a live chat about The Planetary Society's exciting new solar sail project.
A million dollars says The Planetary Society can make a solar sail fly
The Planetary Society announced today that an anonymous donor has put up one million dollars to help us get a solar sail in flight.
Solar Sail Update: New Opportunities
At the beginning of this decade, we designed a mission to accomplish this goal. We launched Cosmos 1 in June 2005, but the Volna rocket that was to place the spacecraft in orbit failed, and we were never able to test our solar sail in flight. These days, The Planetary Society is working with colleagues at NASA and at the Russian Space Research Institute to put together a new solar sail mission.
New Developments on the Road to Cosmos 2
The Planetary Society and Cosmos Studios remain committed to flying the first flight with light. Our spacecraft, Cosmos 2, is a maneuverable solar sail that may be the precursor to a new mode of interplanetary travel, and could one day take us to the stars.
Cosmos 2
A letter from the Executive Director to the members and supporters of The Planetary Society.
Making Light Work
Professional Pilot Magazine asked me to contribute a prediction about the future of flight for the next century. Naturally, I wrote about solar sailing.
Update: Monitoring the Weather?
The bigger the dream, the harder it is to achieve it. Our dream at The Planetary Society is to fly the first solar sail mission -- and prove the technology that might someday take humanity to the stars.
Update: Getting Started
The Planetary Society solar sail team is working to try again to fly the world’s first solar sail spacecraft.