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Japan Plans $21B Space Power Plant
Mike writes "Japan has announced plans to send a $21 billion solar power generator into space that will be capable of producing one gigawatt of energy, or enough to power 294,000 homes. The project recently received support from Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and IHI Corp, who are now teaming up in the race to develop new technology within four years that can beam electricity back to Earth without the use of cables. Japan hopes to test a small solar satellite decked out with solar panels by the year 2015."
The DOD, as well as FEMA, should be pushing to have several built for the America. This would actually enable more private launches, but also give the DOD a means to bring energy into areas that they need. Transportation of fuel is EXPENSIVE. The ability to bring power into a hurricane hit area will enable quick power. More importantly, the ability to beam energy will have to be developed. That would enable many of our construction and open pit mining vehicles to move off diesel. Basically, that would help to drive new innovations.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Recession means "lack" of spending behavior, not "lack" of money. Often spending on promising technologies has important spin-off applications which bolster the economy / people spend money.
That seems to be the exact opposite problem of what we have in America. We thought we had way more money that we even thought we had. When the magicians disappeared, all the make-believe money that was coursing through the veins of the economy dried up and caused the businesses who were relying on people spending that make-believe money to burn out and fail. It was the lack of money that caused the lack of spending, not the lack of things to buy.
I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
Here's a random thought: If we were to detect (with sufficient warning) an incoming comet on collision course for Earth, could this thing be reoriented so the microwave beam begins to ablate material off the comet and change the trajectory?
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
This is why it's important. A 1GW power plant in space will be the largest space construction project, dwarfing the size of the International Space Station. Furthermore, since the actual devices being sent into space are relatively simple in comparison to a space habitat, economies of scale kicks in quite quickly. So sure, the first 1GW installed may be pretty damned costly, but what about the second? Third? 10th? Not to mention the spill-over technologies in heavy lift rocket design, solar panel construction (this should be a huge boon to solar companies), robotics, etc. Hell, even after the service life of the solar panels have ended, it would still make a super attractive large structure in space to anchor stuff off of (antennas/relay satellites, refueling stations for future long distance missions, maybe even a new space station and living quarters), or just to refurbish and extend its life for possibly hundreds of years.
Rather than spend $71,000 per home to buy some spacetoy, they could just spend $10,000 per home and put the solar panels directly on the roof.
Japan isn't exactly the sunniest place in the world, so solar panels on the rooftops aren't going to provide enough power.
However, if they succeed in developing space-based power, not only can they provide power to themselves, they can build more stations and sell power to other countries too. That could be very profitable. All they have to do is make it cheaper than nuclear power, and lots of places would sign up. If they make it cheaper than coal, then Japan would control a large portion of worldwide energy.
Meanwhile, what exactly is the USA investing in to secure its citizens a place in the future global economy? Real estate loans?