(CNN) -- Four hundred years after Johannes Kepler suggested that ships might someday sail on "heavenly breezes" beyond the Earth, his dream is on the verge of becoming reality.

Within the decade, NASA scientists think they can demonstrate a revolutionary propulsion system, an immense, super-lightweight sail that harnesses the power of solar photons to propel spacecraft faster and farther than ever.

NASA thinks the technology could push an interstellar probe at five times the speed of current propulsion systems, meaning it could cover the distance between New York and Los Angeles in less than a minute.

"This will be humankind's first planned venture outside the solar system," said Les Johnson, manager of Interstellar Propulsion Research at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Conventional spacecraft need too much fuel to push their own weight into interstellar space, but space sails require no fuel, except for the sun, he said.

Full Story: http://cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/05/25/solar.sail/index.html