After more than three years circling the Earth, the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 mission has come to an end following a fiery reentry. The satellite was an important tech demo for the idea of solar ...

The Planetary Society has launched a new mission control dashboard for LightSail 2, a crowdfunded spacecraft currently in orbit that’s going to test the performance of a true solar sail that’s moved ...

Space exploration nonprofit The Planetary Society is celebrating a stack of wins today, after announcing that its LightSail 2 spacecraft, which was funded in part through a crowdfunding campaign, has ...

Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. It's ...

A new spacecraft is circling around Earth. But LightSail 2 doesn't have rockets or even solar panels. Instead, the fuel-free vehicle is soaring through space using the power of the sun's light.

An artist’s conception shows LightSail 2’s four triangular solar sails fully deployed in orbit. (Planetary Society Illustration / Josh Spradling) The nonprofit Planetary Society says its LightSail 2 ...

The Planetary Society's LightSail 1 experimental solar sail is due to hitch a ride into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in April 2016, the nonprofit society announced Wednesday. "It's ...

So far, it's been smooth sailing for the LightSail 2. The solar spacecraft is orbiting on its own after being delivered to space last week aboard Space X's Falcon Heavy. The mission team of the ...

After launching into orbit aboard SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket last month, The Planetary Society's LightSail 2 satellite has now entered the most critical phase of its mission. The spacecraft has ...

The LightSail 2, a small spacecraft powered solely by the sun's rays, has successfully unfurled and is now flying through low Earth orbit (LEO). Built by The Planetary Society, a non-profit co-founded ...

The Planetary Society has declared "mission success" on LightSail 2, its crowdfunded solar sailing CubeSat traveling around the planet. While LightSail 2 successfully unfurled its sail last week, it ...