Space-Based Solar Power
Since clouds, atmosphere and nighttime are absent in space, satellite-based solar panels would be able to capture and transmit substantially more energy than terrestrial solar panels.
Space solar power (SSP) proposes to launch a device into space that collects solar power and beams it down to Earth at radio frequencies. It was proposed decades ago as an alternative power source to meet the need for clean, reliable, and dispatchable energy. However, earlier SSP proposals have faced significant technical or economic challenges.
A step by step diagram on space based solar power. Space-based solar power (SBSP or SSP) is the concept of collecting solar power in outer space with solar power satellites (SPS) and distributing it to Earth.
Each SBSP design is normalized to deliver 2 gigawatts (GW) of power to the electric grid to be comparable to very large terrestrial solar power plants operating today.3 Therefore, five RD2 systems are needed to deliver roughly the same amount of power as one RD1 system.
The RD1 solar panel area is more than 3,000 times and 27 times greater than that of the ISS and Starlink constellation, respectively. The mass is 5.9Mkg for RD1 and 10Mkg for RD2. The RD1 John C. Mankins “SPS-Alpha Mark-III and an Achievable Roadmap to Space Solar Power,” 72nd International Astronautical Congress, October 15, 2021.
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