What is "nanosail-d"

NanoSail-D was a small satellite which was to have been used by NASA's Ames Research Center to study the deployment of a solar sail in space. It was a three-unit CubeSat measuring 30 by 10 by 10 centimetres (12 × 3.9 × 3.9 inches), with a mass of . The satellite was lost shortly after launch due to a problem with the rocket carrying it, however a replacement, NanoSail-D2, was launched in 2010 to complete its mission.