Meanwhile, a journey to the heliopause (the demarcation line for interstellar space where the sun’s magnetic forces cease to influence objects) could take between 4.2 and 5.3 years.

To achieve 20 percent of the speed of light (0.2 c), the Starshot nanocraft and sail would require a 100 Gigawatt (100 billion watts) laser array to push the sail for a sustained period of 10 minutes.

Related: Solar-sailing probes may soon get their moment in the sun NOAA's Office of Space Weather Observations oversees the agency's operational satellite systems in space, which provide crucial ...