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This Satellite Could Be Beaming Solar Power Down From Space By 2025

Posted by timothy on from the your-popcorn-isn't-safe dept.

Daniel_Stuckey writes "A NASA veteran, aerospace entrepreneur, and space-based solar power (SBSP) expert, [John] Mankins designed the world's first practical orbital solar plant. It's called the Solar Power Satellite via Arbitrarily Large PHased Array, or SPS-ALPHA for short. If all goes to plan, it could be launched as early as 2025, which is sooner than it sounds when it comes to space-based solar power timelines. Scientists have been aware of the edge the "space-down" approach holds over terrestrial panels for decades. An orbiting plant would be unaffected by weather, atmospheric filtering of light, and the sun's inconvenient habit of setting every evening. SBSP also has the potential to dramatically increase the availability of renewable energy."

6 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. My god, what has science wrought??? by kruach+aum · · Score: 5, Funny

    A satellite directly beaming solar power down from space? We've created... the moon.

    1. Re:My god, what has science wrought??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      It basically works like Ion Canon and it will accelerate global warming and destroy the receiver station.

    2. Re:My god, what has science wrought??? by You're+All+Wrong · · Score: 4, Funny

      The moon's too lossy, and keeps having its time of the month where it's completely useless. For getting solar power beamed down from space, I'd propose using ... the sun!

      I'm curious - how much taxpayer funding has this received? Is this just another one of the "ride the replace-fossil-fuel-usage bandwagon" schemes?

      --
      Your head of state is a corrupt weasel, I hope you're happy.
    3. Re:My god, what has science wrought??? by Arancaytar · · Score: 3, Funny

      Moon, Death Star, whichever.

  2. Re:Control API Security by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 5, Funny

    would someone please at least a security engineer before they design the control API for the thing?

    No. There's no pleasing security engineers.

    --
    Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
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  3. Re:It's a cover by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, we're more of a Kardashian Type ''civilization' now.

    We're doomed.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!