WASHINGTON — Days after a successful unfurling of its solar sail, the prime contractor for the experimental Sunjammer spacecraft said the propellant-thrifty vessel could well become a new early warning beacon for potentially harmful space weather.

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Dan Leone is the NASA reporter for SpaceNews, where he also covers other civilian-run U.S. government space programs and a growing number of entrepreneurial space companies. He joined SpaceNews in 2011.Dan earned a bachelor's degree in public communications...