After three-and-a-half years of sailing above Earth, the LightSail 2 spacecraft has burnt its shiny metallic wings as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere in a fiery blaze. The Planetary Society announced ...

In orbit since 2019, LightSail 2 is expected to burn up in the atmosphere at some point within the next few months. Reading time 3 minutes For the past three years, a tiny loaf-of-bread-sized ...

After more than three years circling the Earth, the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 mission has come to an end following a fiery reentry. The satellite was an important tech demo for the idea of solar ...

While most traditional spacecraft use combinations of chemical burn thrusters and planetary gravitational assists to arrive at their destinations, a solar sail-centric spacecraft would offer one ...

The mission, far beyond its design lifetime, may fall into the atmosphere in a few months. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Somewhere above our heads, a small spacecraft with aluminized Mylar sail is making history. Launched at the end of June on the Falcon Heavy, the LightSail 2 spacecraft is currently moving along using ...

The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft sprang loose from its Prox-1 carrier vehicle as planned today, and sent its first signals back to mission control at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in ...

A new solar-sailing spacecraft will be a call to all (future) occupants of interplanetary craft. The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 spacecraft will be a test bed for future missions wanting to use ...