solar sail
nounDefinition of solar sail
: a propulsive device for a spacecraft that consists of a flat material (such as aluminized plastic) designed to receive thrust from solar radiation pressure
Examples of solar sail in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Further Reading SpaceX just aced a critical Air Force test of its Falcon Heavy rocket A solar sail is a material in space with a bright, mirror like surface. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "So, how much did the Planetary Society’s light sail really sail?," 2 Aug. 2019 Planetary Society had hoped to reach that milestone years earlier, but its first solar sail was destroyed during a rocket explosion in 2005. — Jackie Wattles, CNN, "Bill Nye's experimental spacecraft that sails on sunlight declares mission success," 31 July 2019 Sagan even presented a model of a solar sail on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1976. — Loren Grush, The Verge, "Spacecraft designed to ride on sunlight deploys its reflective solar sail," 23 July 2019 The first solar sail prototype, a product of Japan's space agency, flew to space in 2010. — Jackie Wattles, CNN, "Bill Nye's experimental spacecraft that sails on sunlight declares mission success," 31 July 2019 Assuming everything goes as planned, the solar sail will raise LightSail 2 in its orbit about half a kilometer each day. — Robert Z. Pearlman, Scientific American, "Solar Sailing Success: Planetary Society Deploys LightSail 2," 23 July 2019 Soon after its inception, NASA began planning a bevy of ambitious space missions, including funding several solar sail studies. — Amy Thompson, Smithsonian, "LightSail 2 Launches to Space to Soar on the Power of Sunshine," 25 June 2019 Today's Headlines SpaceX is launching a solar sail the size of a boxing ring Late tonight, Space X is expected to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket on its most complicated mission yet: bringing two dozen satellites to three different orbits. — Alex Baker-whitcomb, WIRED, "Space X's Launch Tonight, An Illegal Airbnb Empire, and More News," 24 June 2019 Science + Tech = MACH SpaceX launched its heftiest rocket yet with 24 research satellites, a deep space atomic clock, a solar sail and even the human ashes of a former astronaut. — Petra Cahill, NBC News, "Iran slams sanctions, Jussie Smollett video released & stars perform Mueller report: The Morning Rundown," 25 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'solar sail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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