Slashdot Mirror
Japan Successfully Deploys First Solar Sail In Space
An anonymous reader writes "This morning the Japanese space agency, JAXA, successfully unfurled a solar sail in space for the first time. Solar sails offer the best hope for deep space exploration because they eliminate the need to carry fuel. The Japanese spacecraft IKAROS created centripetal force by spinning, allowing it to launch the 0.0003-inch-thick sail. While deployment is a challenge in a zero-gravity environment, spacecraft — unlike airplanes — don't have to contend with drag, so with each photon that hits the sail helps the spacecraft gather speed."
It's not just the US - it seems there are people in every modern western society who hate their country/the west in general. They think that "we" owe the rest of the world for all eternity, even if it means our own destruction. Stupid and unproductive, like you said. I experience it on a regular basis from hand-wringing self-loathers.