After weeks of inactivity from a glitch, the Planetary Society's LightSail was finally able to perform its primary task.

According to the Washington Post, mission managers lost communications with the spacecraft on May 20, but regaining contact with it did not solve their problems. Forced to alter their plan for LightSail somewhat, the Planetary Society is planning to move the spacecraft to its next stage.

Bill Nye, one of the scientists working on the LightSail team and the Planetary Society's CEO, confirmed the spacecraft's sail deployed.

"We couldn't get signals to and from our LightSail on the first orbital pass, so we tried again on our next orbit- and it worked," Nye said in a press release. "We've learned a lot about perseverance on this test mission. Although it's in inertial space, LightSail has had me on a rollercoaster. I want to thank the engineering team; they've done fantastic work. I especially want to thank our supporters and members, who made this success possible. We are advancing space science and exploration. This mission is part of our mission."

Mission manager regained contact with LightSail on May 30, but had to wait more than a week to deploy the sail. The spacecraft was originally supposed to orbit Earth for a month, the Post reported, but it appears as if Nye and his team will have to scrap that plan. The sail's deployment is actually ahead of schedule.

The Planetary Society will likely release images of the sail's unfurling later Monday.