solar sail

noun

1. Aerospace. a design concept for spacecraft propulsion consisting of a very thin, very large sheet of highly polished material that would be driven by the pressure of sunlight.

solar sail

noun

1. a device that reflects light particles from the Sun, gaining momentum in the opposite direction to propel spacecraft forwards

solar sail

1. A saillike device that is made of lightweight and highly reflective material and attached to a spacecraft to harness the radiation pressure of the solar wind and light for propulsion.
2. Also called light sail

Word History and Origins

Origin of solar sail¹

First recorded in 1955–60