There was a recent launch of a new kind of spacecraft - one that used a sail to propel the craft with particles from the sun acting as the wind. ABC News/AP has the story:
Russian Space Agency: Solar Launch Failed
Solar Sail Vehicle Crashed Back to Earth When Rocket's Engine Failed
A joint Russian-U.S. project to launch a solar sail space vehicle crashed back to Earth when the booster rocket's engine failed less than two minutes after takeoff, the Russian space agency said Wednesday.
The Cosmos 1 vehicle was intended to show that a so-called solar sail can make a controlled flight. Solar sails, designed to be propelled by pressure from sunlight, are envisioned as a potential means for achieving interstellar flight, allowing such spacecraft to gradually build up great velocity and cover large distances.
But the Volna booster rocket failed 83 seconds after its launch from a Russian nuclear submarine in the northern Barents Sea just before midnight Tuesday in Moscow, the Russian space agency said.
A shame -- the article went on to say that several other attempts at Solar Sails have failed as well. A very interesting and feasible project -- the Delta/Vee is not that great (acceleration) but the potential speed is not too shabby (186,000,000 miles per second; it's not just a good idea, it's the Law).
