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# Solar Sailing Spacecrafts (Update)
LightSail Provides Inexpensive, Inexhaustible Space Exploration

By Meghan Young | Published 2015-05-27 | Tech
Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/solar-sailing-spacecraft
References: [space](http://www.space.com/29402-bill-nye-lightsail-spacecraft-kickstarter.html) & [kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theplanetarysociety/lightsail-a-revolutionary-solar-sailing-spacecraft/)

LightSail is the name of a solar sailing spacecraft that's based on a space travel concept first popularized by Carl Sagan nearly 40 years ago. Although announced earlier this year, it has since been launched as a Kickstarting campaign by Bill Nye himself, who is the leader of The Planetary Society, a non-profit dedicated to the exploration of the solar system.

Already demolishing its $200,000 goal by $745,651 and counting, the solar sailing spacecraft aims to revolutionize access to space for low-cost citizen projects. Bill Nye writes, "Through this proof-of-concept mission, we will use [CubeSats](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/satellite-system) [no bigger than a breadbox] to open new paths beyond Earth and one day potentially to other planets with an inexpensive, inexhaustible means of propulsion."

## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter)

- Score: 1.7/10
- Popularity: 29% | Activity: 14% | Freshness: 8%
- Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women
- Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X
- Top markets: North America

## Categories

[Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Tech](https://www.trendhunter.com/tech) > [Science](https://www.trendhunter.com/science)

## Key Themes

### Why This Trend Is Growing

- **Solar Sailing Spacecrafts:** Solar sailing spacecrafts offer a revolutionary means of propulsion for space exploration.
- **Low-cost Citizen Projects:** Access to space for low-cost citizen projects is being revolutionized through solar sailing spacecrafts.
- **Inexpensive, Inexhaustible Propulsion:** Solar sailing spacecrafts provide an inexpensive and inexhaustible means of propulsion for space exploration.

### Industries Being Reshaped

- **Space Exploration:** Solar sailing spacecrafts present disruptive innovation opportunities in the space exploration industry for low-cost and sustainable exploration.
- **Non-profit Organizations:** Non-profit organizations have the opportunity to leverage solar sailing spacecrafts to advance their missions in space exploration at a lower cost.
- **Technology and Engineering:** The advancement of solar sailing spacecrafts creates disruptive innovation opportunities in the technology and engineering sectors for the development of new propulsion systems.

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