MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
Contact: Nancy Lovato (818) 354-6278 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July
5, 2000 SAIL TECHNOLOGY BEAMED TO FUTURE SPACE EXPLORATION In
two breakthrough developments, NASA scientists have beamed
microwaves and laser energy to "fill" lightweight sails in
laboratory demonstrations of how these technologies might
provide propulsion for interstellar exploration. The sails used
in the microwave experiment were actually driven to liftoff and
flight, while the laser-driven sails achieved horizontal
movement. "These are really two giant steps forward," said Henry
Harris, task manager for the microwave levitation and laser
experiments at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif. "These results would not have been possible without newly
developed ultralight, high-temperature sail materials and
beamed- energy propulsion methods." Future spacecraf