solar sail

American  

noun

1. Aerospace. a design concept for spacecraft propulsion consisting of a very thin, very large sheet of highly polished material that would be driven by the pressure of sunlight.

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solar sail British  

noun

1. a device that reflects light particles from the Sun, gaining momentum in the opposite direction to propel spacecraft forwards

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solar sail Scientific  

1. A saillike device that is made of lightweight and highly reflective material and attached to a spacecraft to harness the radiation pressure of the solar wind and light for propulsion.

2. Also called light sail

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Etymology

Origin of solar sail

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

The concept is similar to a solar sail spacecraft, forms of which have already been deployed in space.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2024

Some will map ice on the lunar surface, one will deploy a giant solar sail and head off to an asteroid, and one will attempt to land on the Moon.

From The Verge • Aug. 25, 2022

Also in the clear: a solar sail demo targeting an asteroid.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 24, 2022

The manner of its push resembled what one might see from a solar sail spacecraft, a type of proposed interstellar probe propulsion that humans actually tested with an experimental probe in 2010.

From Salon • Sep. 15, 2021

Unlike other propulsion methods, which require a spacecraft to carry fuel, the power source of a solar sail is essentially unlimited.

From Scientific American • Feb. 3, 2011