Editing Solar sail (section)

===Inner planets===
For trips within the inner Solar System, they can deliver payloads and then return to Earth for subsequent voyages, operating as an interplanetary shuttle.  For Mars in particular, the craft could provide economical means of routinely supplying operations on the planet. According to Jerome Wright, "The cost of launching the necessary conventional propellants from Earth are enormous for manned missions. Use of sailing ships could potentially save more than $10 billion in mission costs."<ref name="Wright "/>

Solar sail craft can approach the Sun to deliver observation payloads or to take up station keeping orbits.  They can operate at 0.25 AU or closer.  They can reach high orbital inclinations, including polar.

Solar sails can travel to and from all of the inner planets.  Trips to Mercury and Venus are for rendezvous and orbit entry for the payload.  Trips to Mars could be either for rendezvous or swing-by with release of the payload for [[Aerobraking|aerodynamic braking]].<ref name="Wright " />

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:right"
|-
!rowspan=2|Sail size<br/>m!!colspan=2|Mercury Rendezvous!!colspan=2|Venus Rendezvous!!colspan=2|Mars Rendezvous!!colspan=2|Mars Aerobrake
|-
!days!!tons!!days!!tons!!days!!tons!!days!!tons
|-
|rowspan=3|800<br/>σ = 5 g/m<sup>2</sup><br/>w/o cargo
|600||9||200||1||400||2||131||2
|-
|900||19||270||5||500||5||200||5
|-
|1200||28|| || ||700||9||338||10
|-
|rowspan=3|2000<br/>σ = 3 g/m<sup>2</sup><br/>w/o cargo
|600||66||200||17||400||23||131||20
|-
|900||124||270||36||500||40||200||40
|-
|1200||184|| || ||700||66||338||70
|}