Japan To Launch Solar-powered Spaceship

Solar technology and spaceships are always cool subjects to talk about, and now the folks over in Japan are planning to launch a spacecraft powered by solar sails into deep space. The vessel has been dubbed Ikaros (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun). The creators of this vessel dub it a “space yacht” since it has 46-foot sails that are thinner than any human hair. Aside from its solar sails, the Ikaros also sports thin solar cells to further help it generate electricity. This spacecraft is reported to cost about $16 million, so it doesn’t look like we’ll be owning one of these anytime soon, but we can certainly dream.