#SailInSpace - An idea once proposed by astronomer Carl Sagan for a ship that could 'sail' through outer space may become a reality after a crowdfunding campaign spearheaded by Bill Nye 'the Science Guy'.

As the Washington Post reports, the LightSail concept reached its Kickstarter goal of $200,000 in just 24 hours, and marks the first step towards what Nye hopes to be a prototype for an affordable 'people's spacecraft'.

LightSail uses fabric 'solar sails' that, rather than catching wind like they would on Earth's oceans, would catch photons from the sun's rays to slowly but surely propel tiny spacecraft through space.

While the concept is a long way from being a solution for human space travel, it could open up space exploration to hobbyists and students around the world and usher in a new era of discovery.

The Washington Post has more on the story HERE.

#Coastguard - The Irish Coast Guard may lead open-sea searches for American space bosses when manned space flights resume, according to the Irish Examiner.

Coastguard chiefs have reportedly been in informal discussions with a senior official from Nasa regarding search and rescue procedures should a manned capsule come down in the North Atlantic.

Nasa's planned launch trajectory for rockets to the ISS or the moon, scheduled to resume in 2016, passes the south coast of Ireland within range of the new Shannon-based helicopter Rescue 115.

This means that if a Nasa vehicle were to ditch in those waters, the Irish Coast Guard would take the lead in any search and rescue effort.

The Irish Examiner has much more on the story HERE.

#Space - An Irish sailor has her sights set on a voyage of a different kind - into space!

Mags O'Sullivan sails with Tralee Bay Sailing Club, but she's also a trained pilot who has previously flown to the edge of space in a Russian MIG fighter jet - and she currently hopes to be successful in the Lynx Space Academy programme.

One lucky astronaut will get the chance to fly to earth orbit on the new Lynx X-COR Space vehicle - and O'Sullivan will have to compete against hundreds of other hopefuls to make it to the second stage of the competition, from which only 22 will be chosen from 200 contenders for training in Florida.

She's currently in 46th place, but she needs the support of Ireland's sailing community if she is to have a solid chance of securing her dream.

Vote for Mags O'Sullivan by visiting her profile page on the Lynx Space Academy website and clicking the Vote button.