The Space Mirror That Turned Night into Day

Solar sail technology was once only theoretical, but it's now being developed to propel spaceships. How did the first solar sails get into space, and why?

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Sources:

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Images:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IK...
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...