NASA’s solar sail mission is finally flying after deployment glitch: « The microwave-oven-sized cubesat unfurled its massive sail to test a novel way of traveling through space. »

« Solar sails harness energy produced by light from the Sun, using it to propel spacecraft forward. As the photons hit the spacecraft’s sails, it causes small bursts of momentum that propel it farther away from the star. We’ll be watching closely as this tiny cubesat, and this interesting new concept, takes its important first baby steps in space. »