Scientists believe "sun-sailing" craft may in the future be able to reach sufficiently high speeds to make travel around the Solar System viable.

The probe launched at 1946 GMT on Tuesday evening from a Russian Delta III class submarine in a Volna rocket, a converted former nuclear missile. The privately funded mission is being co-ordinated by The Planetary Society.

However, the Russian space agency said that there were indications that the Volna rocket may have experienced a problem in its first or second firing stages.

As a result Cosmos-1 may have failed to reach its target orbit.

Once in orbit, Cosmos was designed to unfold its eight, triangular sails. These cover some 600 sq m (720 sq yds), about the size of a basketball court.

Cosmos works on the principle of photons - particles of light from the Sun - hitting the sail and propelling it forwards.

Acceleration is very slow, but constant; and in theory allows the craft to reach very high speeds.

Scientists predict a sun-sailing craft will accelerate at approximately five 10-thousandths of a metre per second, per second, depending on its weight and the size of the sail.

Over one day, its speed would reach 45 m/s (100mph); in 100 days its speed would be 10,000 mph, in three years 100,000 mph.

At that speed, a craft would reach Pluto, the most distant planet in the Solar System, in less than five years.