Japan Planning To Launch Solar Sail "Space Yacht"

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Japan is planning to launch a new satellite with an innovative propulsion technology.  The Ikaros Space Yacht will use solar sail technology to harness the energy of the sun’s radiation, the “solar winds” that flow throughout our solar system.

Japan’s Ikaros solar sail satellite, it’s name an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun, could potentially travel faster through space than traditional exploration satellites.  Solar sail technology has often been the subject of speculation, but Ikaros would be amongst the first to truly take advantage of this propulsion technology.  Solar sail tech works by using a large “sail” of light, thin solar film that catches the moving photons of solar radiation that occur naturally in space, originating from our sun.  This technology could propel a satellite away from the sun at speeds of up to 10,000 mph, five times faster than older explorer satellites like the Voyager I and II.

Japan’s Ikaros solar yacht is not a concept of science fiction, but a real technology that will be launched on May 18th.  NASA and the Russian space program will be paying close attention to the launch, as these programs are currently in development of their own solar sail technologies.  While Ikaros will primarily be used to test the solar sail technology, a second solar sail satellite is planned for the near future that will explore Jupiter and the Trojan asteroids.