Ever since graphene burst on the scene as a wonder material in 2004, it’s been the subject of breathtaking hype. The latest example of the graphene hype machine at work: researchers in China are now suggesting that a graphene spacecraft could theoretically fly through deep space using only light from distant stars. That’s right, a “fuel-free spacecraft.”

The problem with this story, however, is that what the graphene researchers at Nankai University in Tianjin, China actually did was move a small graphene sponge a not-so-intergalactic distance of 40 centimeters using a laser. That’s actually pretty impressive if you’re a graphene researcher – translating light into the movement of a physical object is worthy of a research paper getting published – but it’s a long, long, leap of faith to say that a spacecraft built of graphene will be hurtling through interstellar space anytime soon.

The reason why the story of the graphene sponge attracted so much attention was a short phrase tacked onto the first page of the Chinese research article (entitled “Direct light propulsion of matter observed on a macroscopic scale”), which suggested that “significant applications such as the long-sought optical manipulation of large-scale objects including even the proposed solar sail and space transportation through laser or beam-powered propulsion could be realized.”

Within the research article, too, there was also reference to the IKAROS spacecraft – essentially a giant kite launched by the Japanese space agency in 2010 that is propelled through space using light from the sun. You can think of this as a solar wind gently pushing on the kite, propelling it forward. From this perspective, graphene might be a superior material for constructing just such a spacecraft.

And, indeed, efforts at creating solar sails continue to pick up speed. Just last month, researchers at the Planetary Society in Pasadena, California launched a test mission for the LightSail – a solar sail concept that has been talked about dating back to 1976, when Carl Sagan appeared with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” with a mock-up of the sail.

The graphene sponge illustrates the hard part about graphene research, no matter how many millions of dollars are thrown at the problem. It’s just awfully hard to scale-up manufacturing of graphene objects while maintaining the remarkable properties of the material. A crumpled-up graphene sponge made from building up layer after layer of carbon atoms is where we’re at these days. Even if the graphene spacecraft were built, it would still just be a really super-thin, high-tech kite.

Take a look at all the highlighted projects on the University of Manchester’s graphene Web site – there’s not a single space exploration project highlighted, and this is at one of the biggest graphene research hubs in the world. Manchester, after all, calls itself “the home of graphene” and has a brand-newNational Graphene Institute. Even within the Photon Science Institute – the Manchester research group that’s in charge of studying how light interacts with matter – there’s no mention of a graphene spacecraft propelled by sunbeams.

Instead, one of the biggest projects highlighted on the Manchester Web site is something much humbler – the graphene light bulb. That’s because smaller wins right now are more important than big, out-of-the-box concepts such as the graphene spacecraft. Projects such as the graphene light bulb highlight the commercial viability of graphene, help to build out the graphene ecosystem, and attract more research dollars by providing a proof-of-concept.

And it’s not just the graphene light bulb. Another graphene project that could be more important than any of the big, out-of-the-box ideas involving sunbeam-propelled spacecraft is the graphene supercapacitor from South Korea that might be able to charge electric cars in just four minutes. It’s practical enough — think of the graphene supercapacitor as a faster alternative to charging today’s electric-car batteries — and small enough that it might actually be possible to build. And, best of all, we could test this concept on planet Earth.