Scientific American: Light Sails to Orbit -- NASA watches from the sidelines as Cosmos 1, the first solar sail, goes up

Oh, another story that appeals to my star-wanderlust! Heavens, there is even a Star Trek: DS9 episode that features a vessel with a solar sail! And at least half a dozen of the 'classic' SF writers have used them now and then.

Though there's an odd thought.
I haven't seen much of the 'galivanting around space' type of novel in recent years, more of the psycho-social type of story. I wonder if that is a reflection of the less adventurous attitude of those who are building the space craft now ... restrained by the fear of 'the bottom line' and the loss of life that recent years have brought to the space program around the world.