Laser powered solar sails have been around a while, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_propulsion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_propulsion > Use of

Laser powered solar sails have been around a while, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_propulsion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_propulsion > Use of a laser-pushed lightsail was proposed initially by Marx in 1966, as a method of interstellar travel that would avoid extremely high mass ratios by not carrying fuel, and analyzed in detail by physicist Robert L. Forward in 1989