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The Planetary Society is planning a series of solar sail trials under the heading of 'LightSail'. LightSail-1 will be constructed of 3 CubeSat modules which will contain folded mylar sails able to unfurl to about 31 sq. meters (340 sq. ft). This first launch will operate for a few days at an orbital around 800 km (500 miles). LightSail-1 will test controllability and measure acceleration. The total mission cost will be around $1.8 million.

Each CubeSat module is about 10 sq. cm (4 sq in). So the total packaged volume of the LightSail is about half the size of a file box from staples. Or, according to Louis Friedman, 'bigger than a toaster, smaller than a breadbox'. The whole thing will weigh about 5kg (11 lbs).

Louis D. Friedman is a co-founder of the Planetary Society and also the current executive director.

Stellar Exploration, Inc. will construct the LightSail-1.

The Planetary Society's first attempt to test solar sails ended with a launch failure. Their payload, Cosmos 1, landed in the ocean.

Successive projects, LightSail-2 and LightSail-3, will launch to higher altitudes and deeper space.