quote:
After nearly four years of delays, the world's first solar-sail-powered spacecraft is ready for its day in the sun.Cosmos 1 will rocket into space June 21 aboard a modified Russian missile, according to mission planners.
If all is successful, the spacecraft will become the first to boost itself into a higher orbit using nothing more than the gentle pressure of sunlight bouncing off its sails. The feat could open the door to all sorts of new and far-reaching missions.
"Things are looking good for June 21st," said Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, the nonprofit space advocacy group sponsoring the mission. "There's no threat to the mission at this point. We've done our best and we're proud of where we are."