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Issues in Solar Sails
Mass loading of reflective foils
Albedo or reflectivity of thin foils
Deployment of thin films
Extra mass of booms, deployers, etc
Survival of thin films in hostile environment of UV, flares, particle radiation, charging
"packageability, areal density, structural stability, deployability, controllability, and scalability...strength, modulus, areal density, reflectivity, emissivity, electrical conductivity, thermal tolerance, toughness, and radiation sensitivity." Gossamer AO
Notes:
Unfortunately, sails this light must also be very thin. And that leads to a host of other problems. The deployment of ultrathin foils without tearing or crumpling is a major issue. Then there are the environmental problems of UV and particle radiation in space that are known to convert plastic into so much brittle parchment, much like the rear window of convertibles. NASA has released the Gossamer AO requesting ideas for new sail materials that might overcome some of these drawbacks, but success is not at all certain.