The first test flight of a solar sail has been delayed by damage caused during pre-flight testing. The sailwhich uses pressure from the solar wind to propel a spacecraftwas due to be launched next week from a Russian nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea for a sub-orbital flight. It was damaged when the flight test routine was accidentally triggered during ground tests near Murmansk. "The extent of damage is not known at this time," says Louis Friedman of the Planetary Society, the private body which is funding the test.
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.