BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Solar sail probe causes concern
Solar sail probe causes concern
Cosmos-1, The Planetary Society
Cosmos-1 uses the Sun’s photons for propulsion
The fate of an experimental spacecraft designed to use light from the Sun to power space travel is still unknown, scientists monitoring its launch say.
The privately funded Cosmos-1 craft was launched overnight from a modified Russian submarine in the Barents Sea.
After lift-off, mission control scientists in Moscow said they were encountering problems with the craft.
But later a US team also working on the project reported that a weak signal from the craft had been found.
