More good news for non-profit space exploration organization the Planetary Society, led by CEO Bill Nye (The Science Guy), who last month launched their first CubeSat into orbit to test the deployment of its revolutionizing solar sail. After a series of technological glitches, the successful unfurling came as a welcomed relief.

The LightSail project is a miniature satellite, about the size of a loaf of bread, which utilizes sunlight for propulsion in place of traditional fuel. The brainchild of the Planetary Society's founding fathers Bruce Murray, Louis Friedman and Carl Sagan (of "Cosmos" fame) back in the 1970s, the solar powered satellite is now one step closer to becoming a reality.

"After 39 years of chasing this problem around as a student of Professor Sagan and then as a board member and now as CEO, I'm just honored to know the team that produced this spacecraft and very grateful to our members and supporters who made it happen," Nye said, following Sunday's successful unfurling of the satellite's sail. "This is a big day for the Planetary Society. We're advancing space science and exploration. This mission is part of our mission."

The small CubeSat contains a surprisingly large sail. At full deployment, the sail spans some 344 square feet and is composed of four Mylar panels. Their long-awaited unfurling came at 3:47 p.m. ET on Sunday. Although initial photos of the sail were distorted, the team hopes to clarify the images so that they can make any necessary adjustments to the sail's booms.

The team's "Flight by Light" technology uses the sail's large mirrored surface to capture light momentum, which it then transfers to produce small but continuous acceleration for the satellite. The ultra-thin sails are a mere 4.5 microns thick -- about ¼ the thickness of an average trash bag.

The current test mission will not engage the sail, but merely test its deployment. Next year, LightSail will be enclosed within a small satellite called Prox-1, being developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology. The satellites will be rocketed into space aboard SpaceX's heavy-lift rocket, the Falcon Heavy, marking the first controlled, Earth-orbit solar sail flight.

The Planetary Society is actively raising money for future missions. Their current Kickstarter campaign, which was launched on May 12 with a goal to raise $200,000, has already quadrupled that amount, with upwards of $830,000 pledged thus far. The Society intends to put some of the money toward public education and awareness concerning CubeSat and solar sailing technologies in general, which they hope will lead to sustainable future space missions.