Spacecraft propelled by solar sails have naturally been a staple of science
fiction. The Lady Who Sailed the Soul, written by Cordwainer Smith appeared in
the April 1960 issue of Galaxy Magazine. Three years later, the novel version
of Planet of the Apes featured a solar sailed space craft. The following year,
Arthur C. Clarke published a far more technically detailed story about a solar
sail propelled space craft called Sunjammer in Boy’s Life, about a race between
“sun yachts” from Earth orbit to the Moon. By cheer coincidence, Poul Anderson
published another story about solar sailed craft, also entitled Sunjammer, in
Astounding Stories Magazine. Solar sailed ships have appeared in stories by such
notables as Robert Forward, Jack Vance, Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle since
then. Solar sailed craft have appeared in films such as Tron and Star Wars: The
Attack of the Clones and on an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
Advanced Solar Sails
Scientists and other visionaries have tinkered with the idea of enhancing
solar sails. Robert Forward has written studies suggesting ways to boost the
momentum of solar sails using giant lasers or magnetic fields. In this way,
solar sailed craft could reach speeds fast enough to reach the nearby stars.
Other ideas using microwaves to accelerate solar sails have been advanced.