[zog]

--I know I read the book, but which sci-fi guy was it who wrote what about the solar sails? Arthur Clarke I think but can't remember it now, was way back mid sixties I think I read it.

[Arkie2]

I had to Google it to find the answer and sure enough it was Arthur C Clarke. Info is below. I made a misstatement in my original post. The previous launch failed because of an upper stage seperation failure.

Arthur Clarke wrote in 1963 a short science fiction story "The Wind from the Sun" about an international race in the far future, between spaceships propelled by solar sails. It can be found in a collection of Clarke's stories, also titled "The Wind from the Sun," published in 1972 by Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich, inc.

[Arkie2]

The idea is even older than I thought. Check out the following info.

Nearly 400 years ago astronomer Johannes Kepler observed comet tails blown by a solar breeze and suggested that vessels might likewise navigate through space using appropriately fashioned sails. It is now widely recognized that sunlight does indeed produce a force which moves comet tails and a large, reflective sail could be a practical means of propelling a spacecraft.

[TomSmedley]

--I know I read the book, but which sci-fi guy was it who wrote what about the solar sails? Arthur Clarke I think but can't remember it now, was way back mid sixties I think I read it

Yes, it was A.C. Clarke. Published in Boy's Life magazine, house organ of the Boy Scouts of America. "Space tastees -- guaranteed crumbless"