SAN FRANCISCO -- In a laboratory, time lapse video shows a tiny satellite opening a huge sail that could carry it deep into space. Launched on a conventional rocket, the satellite will eventually be powered only by sunlight hitting a Mylar sail.

The spacecraft was not developed by NASA but a non-profit group -- The Planetary Society.

"Our mission is to empower citizens to do things in space," said Jennifer Vaughn, the group's chief operating officer.

The Planetary Society raised $4.5 million to build LightSail.

"Although solar sailing isn't necessarily fast when you get started, it's constant -- it never stops," said Vaughn. "You can actually build up the speed that you need to escape our solar system."

LightSail's mission is made possible by a new generation of small, relatively inexpensive spacecraft called "CubeSats." About the size of a loaf of bread, they are making space exploration affordable to universities and businesses.