Chris Huff wrote:

> If you stay within a solar system and don't reach escape velocity, you
> can just use the gravity of the sun or the nearest convenient planet to
> turn around. I don't know how useful solar sails would be outside solar
> systems.

A few years ago Arthur C. Clark wrote a book on the subject. One of
the articles mentioned intersteller travel using solars sails with
the assitance of space based sun driven laser systems. The speculation
was that it is possible to not only drive a craft to a nearby star
with a laser but it is also possible to return it with the same
system. You can use tacking (just like in sailing against the wind)
for the return trip. It would naturaly take longer to return but
it is technically feasable.

-- 
Ken Tyler - 1400+ POV-Ray, Graphics, 3D Rendering, and Raytracing Links:
http://home.pacbell.net/tylereng/index.html http://www.povray.org/links/

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