Solar sail

A solar sail was a propulsion device that reflected photons from a star in order to push an object.

History and specifics[]

Between the 16th and 21st centuries Bajoran lightships used solar sails as their primary means of propulsion. Inspired by these ships, Benjamin Sisko built a lightship, the Baraka, in which he took his son as a companion during a flight. (DS9 episodes: "Explorers", "Accession")

The Spectre class ships used an ion glide solar sail for covert propulsion. (NF novel: After the Fall)

In 2020, Shaun Christopher recalled that solar sails were used aboard some of Earth's satellites to help maintain their orbit. (TOS novel: The Rings of Time)

The pre-warp Krid used solar sail-vessels to hunt gormagander in their system in the late 23rd century. (Adventures RPG module: Mission Briefs: Cold War mission: "The Shape of Beasts")

In 2268, a 1,000-year-old Sentient Tree derelict discovered in a remote sector of the galaxy near Albali Prime was propelled by solar sails. (Adventures RPG module: A Forest Apart)

By the 2270s, the America's Cup had become a race of solar sailing spacecraft. In the 2270s, Volga had won it two years in a row. (TOS video game: The Kobayashi Alternative)

The cosmozoan Argus IV creature propelled itself with solar sails when it hatched in 2274. (TOS comic: "It's a Living")

In 2286, the USS Yorktown's chief engineer rigged a solar sail to provide power to the ship's life support after the Whale Probe disabled it. (TOS movie: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)

In 2364, Wesley Crusher suggested using a solar sail to escape from an alien creature without attracting its attention, but William T. Riker said that method would be too slow. (TNG novel: Ghost Ship)