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Video shows NASA's futuristic solar sail technology prototype. Like a sail on the ocean propels a boat with the wind, this space sail is meant to propel payloads by harnessing the pressure of sunlight.

Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
Transcript
00:00A NASA mission is testing revolutionary technology to allow robotic spacecraft to sail on sunlight.
00:08The advanced composite solar sail system introduces a new way to explore the cosmos.
00:15Much like a sailboat is propelled by wind, a solar sail spacecraft is pushed by light from the sun.
00:23Sunlight is composed of particles called photons.
00:26As these particles bounce off the reflective sail, the spacecraft accelerates.
00:32This eliminates the need for rocket propellant and makes it possible for spacecraft to travel indefinitely.
00:40The sail is stored inside a spacecraft about the size of the microwave oven.
00:46Lightweight carbon fiber booms unroll from the spacecraft to form rigid tubes that support the ultra-thin reflective polymer sail.
00:56When fully deployed, the sail forms a square that is 33 by 33 feet, or about half the size of a tennis court.
01:05Altitude and position are changed by angling the sail toward or away from the sun.
01:12Results from the mission will guide the design of next-generation solar sail spacecraft to explore and conduct science across the solar system.
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