Bill Nye Starts Kickstarter Campaign for Solar Sailing Spacecraft

In the 1970s, scientist and author Carl Sagan promoted the idea of a solar sail — a spacecraft that could get the energy required for space travel from the sun's radiation pressure. Now, science educator and TV host Bill Nye and nonprofit organization The Planetary Society (founded by Sagan among others; Nye is currently the CEO) has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to help make Sagan's dream a reality.The campaign is seeking at least $200,000 and a maximum of $1 million to fund LightSail — a mission to send a small solar-sailing spacecraft into Earth's orbit and thus demonstrate solar sails as a viable method of propulsion for space travel.