project this : a giant solar power plant floating in space , gathering the Sunday ’s free energy with virtually no restraint from the atmospheric condition , seasons or time of day , render a incessant supply of dark-green push to Earth . go a little too Sci - Fi ? Well , thanks to JAXA , theJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency , we could actually witness this unbelievable engineering in just over a decade .
The approximation of a distance power flora has actually been around for a while . Back in 1968 , American aerospace engineerDr . Peter Glaserpioneered the space solar power concept and purport the deployment of giant solar panel in space so as to generate microwaves that could be transmitted back to Earth to produce electricity . The concept actuate a spate of interest , even from NASA , but it came to a halt in the ‘ 80s because of the gamy toll involved . Japan , however , pursued the idea and is currently the worldly concern loss leader of the Space Solar Power Systems ( SSPS ) task .
This colossal satellite , hovering around 22,000 miles ( 36,000 km ) above Earth , would be several statute mile long and matter a whopping10,000 metric tons . These float solar panels would actually be tethered to a place on the ground to keep the satellite at a fixed point in geostationary orbit . The proposed model also include a set ofmirrorsthat reflect the Lord’s Day ’s twinkle onto the panels so that when the orbiter is not facing the Sunday it can still receive sun .
And now for the really tricky part : getting all of that solar DOE back to Earth so that we can use it . There aretwo potential waysthat this could be achieved which involve converting the solar energy into either laser beam or microwaves , or perhaps even a combining of both , which would then be channelise to a receiving facility ( call a “ rectenna ” [ right feeler ] ) situated on Earth . Ground - ground experiments are currently afoot to discern which option would be most effective .
These space based solar panel would be around5 - 10 timesmore efficient than primer - based solar conversion systems . moreover , CO2emissions will be low and will only come from the receiving facility . It ’s portend that SSPS will be capable to process around1 gigawattof power , which is a like amount to atomic power place .
Although Japan are the leading state with respect to making SSPS take place , in realness the costs will be so astronomic that it is likelycontributionsfrom other countries will be required before we see this giant space power station start to take shape . This concept may seem a little far - fetched , but JAXA think they are getting tantalizingly close to turn this sight into a reality .
arrest out JAXA ’s SSPS YouTube video recording to find out more :
