Lightsails are coming.

"In a potential step toward sending small spacecraft to the stars, researchers have developed an ultra-thin, ultra-reflective membrane designed to ride a column of laser light to incredible speeds. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com" (ScitechDaily, Breakthrough Lightsail: Ultra-Thin, AI-Optimized, and Ready to Race to Alpha Centauri)

Ultra-thin and strong materials are things that can make a large solar- or lightsail true. Lightsails offer a cheap and easy way to transport spacecraft to the asteroid belt. Materials used in lightsails can offer a choice to take asteroids back to Earth. The vehicle uses lightsail to travel to the asteroid belt. Then that lightsail turns into a bag and the craft wraps the asteroid. And then it can ignite its rocket. 

Theoretically, solar- or light sails can even travel to Alpha Centauri. The lightsail gets its energy from the sun. The particle flow from the sun pushes that system out from the sun. The system can use magnetized materials to collect those ions more effectively. And there can be lasers on its road that shoot laser impulses to a lightsail. However, the magnetized material allows to use of ion cannons that shoot ions to the lightsail. Thin magnets can collect those particles into the sail. The lightsail can research the solar system. 

And ions give more power. In the most powerful version called "Medusa," the system uses a lightsail in the inner solar system. There are thermonuclear bombs like hydrogen bombs on the sails route. Those nuclear bombs can be shot to those positions using different spacecraft. And when lightsail travels past them those systems will be detonated. That gives punch to that spacecraft on the journey to Proxima Centauri. 

Lightsails are very large structures. If that material is covered using metals the lightsail's sail structure can be used as a communication antenna. That makes it possible to create large-size radar antennas. And maybe in the future, that kind of system can research the solar system. The lightsail technology can also used in radio telescopes, radar, and electronic recon satellites.  

Radio telescopes and electronic recon satellites are the same systems. The large antenna can capture weak signals. So the next-generation electronic recon satellites can use lightsail's material technology in their structures.  The same materials can be used in large-scale weather-protecting structures on Earth.  They can be used to cover camps and even yards in everyday life. 

https://scitechdaily.com/breakthrough-lightsail-ultra-thin-ai-optimized-and-ready-to-race-to-alpha-centauri/