In order to be somewhere in space, you’ll need engines and fuel, but maybe that won’t be the case for much longer. People has just reached a critical milestone in the development of its solar sail technology. The LightSail 2 spacecraft has just deployed its mylar sail in orbit, allowing it to use sunlight to move through space.

While rockets accelerate much faster than a solar sail, the chemical propellants are expensive, toxic, and add considerably to the weight of a spacecraft. Solar sails produce gentle, continuous thrust from the physical force of photons hitting the sail material. The larger the sail, the more photons impart energy to the spacecraft. LightSail 2 has a total surface area of almost 30 square meters.

The partially crowdfunded LightSail 2 will use its sails to putter around in space over the coming weeks. It contains a reaction wheel that allows controllers on the ground to change the spacecraft’s orientation. By pointing the sail toward the sun at various points in its orbit, LightSail 2 will accelerate and raise its orbit little by little.