ESA recently had a symposium on the topic, and the video is now available.
2 thoughts on “Space Solar Power”
Unfortunately, I think space-based solar power is predicated on a pre-Biden world where the Russians and Chinese aren’t going full bore toward space-dominance with anti-satellite weapons.
If the West really switched to space-based power to a highly significant degree, we would likely mothball conventional fossil fuel sources and most of our nuclear reactors. Considering that the lead time to build such facilities is generally several years, it would be like giving our enemies in any near-peer conflict an OFF switch on Western civilization.
The only thing would be remembering that the output should be steerable allowing the satellite to reorient from “My rectenna farm” to “Your rectenna farm”. This makes the satellite a valuable resource that can be sold, seized or bartered and too valuable to just destroy …hopefully.
Unfortunately, I think space-based solar power is predicated on a pre-Biden world where the Russians and Chinese aren’t going full bore toward space-dominance with anti-satellite weapons.
If the West really switched to space-based power to a highly significant degree, we would likely mothball conventional fossil fuel sources and most of our nuclear reactors. Considering that the lead time to build such facilities is generally several years, it would be like giving our enemies in any near-peer conflict an OFF switch on Western civilization.
The only thing would be remembering that the output should be steerable allowing the satellite to reorient from “My rectenna farm” to “Your rectenna farm”. This makes the satellite a valuable resource that can be sold, seized or bartered and too valuable to just destroy …hopefully.