UK-based company Space Solar is partnering with Reykjavik Energy and Icelandic sustainability initiative Transition Labs to develop a space-based solar power plant that can deliver about 30 megawatts of electricity – potentially enough to power between 1,500 and 3,000 homes – from 2030. The system will collect sunlight in space through solar panels and then transmit it as radio waves at a specific frequency to a ground station, where it will be converted to electricity for the grid.
The satellite is expected to be scalable and quite big. Even if a full version of their CASSIOPeiA power array is not built, we are talking about the heaviest single object in space that is not a space station, and when all the arrays are splayed out, much larger than the International Space Station.
The company aims to have a scaled-up version of the system in space by 2036, which would supply gigawatts of electricity.
This sounds fucking wild. I’ve heard about doing this before, but I assumed we were far off actually trying it in any practical sense
I hope this actually happens
- capture light in space
- shine light down to earth
- capture light on earth
- sell electricity for profit
simple as
Yeah im curious about it but it sounds like lossy-er solar farming… Perhaps its about surface area and around the clock availability?
Now i imagine pirate power radiostations…
First space death ray confirmed. Exciting news!
Edit:
No, the system by design cannot be used as or converted into a weapon.
The aperture size of transmitter and receiving antenna are sized to keep the maximum beam intensity at or below 245 W/m2. This is only one quarter of the intensity of sunlight at midday, which is around 1,000 W/m2.
Lacking a common power bus, it would not be possible to re-purpose the power distributed across the platform to power a separate laser or particle weapon.
The aperture size of transmitter and receiving antenna are sized to keep the maximum beam intensity at or below 245 W/m2. This is only one quarter of the intensity of sunlight at midday, which is around 1,000 W/m2.
So it could be testing the feasability of the next sattelite that will be a weapon with a different aperture size.
I would be surprised if they manage to make it work at that scale.
That sounds absolutely insane, maybe its April 1st in iceland?
inb4 “ackshully…”
The company aims to have a scaled-up version of the system in space by 2036, which would supply gigawatts of electricity.
by 2036? We are all dead by then…
