Compact solar sails could be used to degrade satellites orbits at the ends of their lives, thus extending the length of their service by not requiring them to use the last of their propellants to de-orbit. NanoSail-D also aims to prove one other key capability: to eject from FASTSAT successfully without coming back into contact with it sometime later. We should know fairly soon if that part of the mission is also successful. If so, NASA will have demonstrated its first nanosatellite-launching microsatellite, which could change the way institutions and businesses get small payloads into space.