It ’s an idea direct out of skill fable : A space station orbits around Earth , harvesting energy from the sun and glow it down to our planet . Isaac Asimov popularized the concept in his 1941 storyReason , and futurists have been dreaming about it ever since .
But this notion is more than just an unfounded phantasy — it ’s a highly hard-nosed concept being pursued by space agencies across the world , and it ’s almost within reach of current technologies . It could even be the solution to the get-up-and-go crisis here on Earth .
We speak to one of the people hope to make this conception pass , Leopold Summerer , the school principal of the Advanced Concepts and Studies Office at the European Space Agency , to acquire how we might go about turning this pipe dream into a reality .
Building a better solar power station
Solar power has many reward over fossil fuel or other vigour sources : It ’s freely available , renewable , has minimum environmental impacts , and is generally down in the mouth care . Plus , the engineering science in solar panel is getting ripe all the time , reserve them to harvest the energy coming from the sunshine more efficiently .
However , it ’s not without its trouble . One of the grown issues is with reposition , as push can only be accumulate during daytime hours , and it need to be stored in large batteries to supply baron during the night . It ’s also drug-addicted on good weather , as cloud natural covering will reduce the amount of energy that can be collect .
If we could build a solar power place in blank space , though , we ’d obviate these issues . Such a station could collect solar might 24 hours a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. and would n’t need to store energy in bulky bombardment . And if it were built in orbit , then it would n’t experience interference from the Earth ’s atmosphere . The power could also be send directly to where it ’s need most , such as magnanimous cities .
As imaginary as it sounds , the musical theme actually makes a lot of sense . “ It is one of these construct that wait at first , ‘ Wow , really ? Why would anybody put such big structures into space if you have enough free space on Earth ? ' ” Summerer state . But on second glance , the concept has a lot of merit . “ It addresses so many of our current challenge — from climate variety to energy protection — that it would be irresponsible not to regard it in earnest , ” he added .
Space makes sense
If an orbiting solar power station seems ridiculous , consider that it ’s not so very dissimilar from the space technologies we already use . Summerer point out that many space vehicle operate using solar gore , so “ we have solar power stations in quad , we just use the power locally . ”
To make a power station , we ’d need much larger solar panel than those used on space vehicle , and we ’d take to contrive the hardware to deal high potential . But that should be a thing of incrementally improving on current technologies rather than deliver to make solely new solutions .
The other half of the collection and dispersion of power is the transfer issuing . How would power be transpose from the post to Earth ? This would involve wireless power transfer using either lasers or microwave . Such technologies have already beendemonstrated on Earth , with mightiness sent wirelessly over long distances — and if we can do it on Earth , we could do it in distance .
Technological challenges
Of course , there ’s nothing simple about building a superpower station and sending it into area . One of the self-aggrandizing issues would be how to put a structure as large as a great power station into domain and how it would be maintain or fixed if anything go wrong . Many advocator of blank space - based solar baron suggest starting with aconstellation of satellites , which we know how to build and launch . If one work amiss , then there are others that would continue to wreak . This way , we could see about using the engineering without place our eggs into one massive , astronomically expensive basket .
There ’s also the thing of efficiency . Current wireless power transmission engineering science are only so efficient . For practical role , you ’d probably want your solar major power station in crushed Earth orbit , at perhaps500 milesfrom the planet ’s surface . We ’d need to improve the efficiency of wireless power transmittal and also make certain the post has a powerful enough antenna to place all the king it pull in down to Earth .
The engineering to do all of this is n’t quick yet — but it ’s also not entirely out of our compass .
“ It ’s not that we can launch tomorrow , ” Summerer explained . “ But on the other helping hand , there ’s nothing that anyone has key out which would be a show-stopper for any of the key technologies that are postulate . ”
A small, cooperative community
The challenges of a futurist top executive organization are n’t only technological , though . There ’s also the problem of infrastructure . Even if we are able-bodied to reap solar vim from space , we ask infrastructure on Earth to diffuse that power to where it ’s needed . Who will hold this cost ?
“ It is a project that , almost by design , would strongly benefit from international cooperation , ” Summerer said . Ideally , an outside cooperation between different countries and their space agencies would pool resources to produce and set in motion the technology together , but that might prove hard when two of the big musician in this area — the U.S. andChina — do n’t get together on place missions presently .
The cooperation is happening on an alone voluntary fundament .
However , Summerer see grounds to be optimistic about international cooperation in this scene of action , given that it ’s in everyone ’s interest to develop clean , renewable vigor source . There ’s a fashion model for this kind of cooperation inITER , a cooperative external project researching the energy - generating potentiality of nuclear fusion projects .
When it comes to infinite - free-base solar power , “ we ’re not yet at the stage where we have one common international project with intergovernmental correspondence for cooperation , ” Summerer sound out , so “ the cooperation is happening on an entirely voluntary basis . ” But the community of nations researching the construct , including the U.S. , China , Europe , and India , is small , and “ we have it off each other jolly well ” and “ we have strong incentive to work together ” to exchange ideas and technology , he bring .
The European Space Agency recentlysigned contractsfor two construct studies into space - based solar business leader , with the aim of investigating how workable the concept would be under theSOLARISinitiative . There could be a determination on whether to seriously pursue the idea as early on as 2025 .
The moon as a steppingstone
One promising venue for testing a newly developed world power organisation might surprise you . Rather than sending power from space to Earth , we could prove a organisation by first sending power from space to the moon .
In many ways , it ’s actually easier to transmit magnate to the moon than to Earth .
By set up a system to collect solar power in space and channelize it to the Sun Myung Moon ’s surface , “ you may demonstrate practically all the cardinal technology ” for a similar system for send power to Earth , Summerer said .
It also form sense , given the programme of NASA and other organizationsto build long - term habitat on the moonthat will require changeless power . “ We ask power on the moon for any larger installation , and the sources on the moon are very limited , ” Summerer said . The lunar night are dusty and long , lasting around two weeks , so we ’ll need a superpower origin that can sustain visitors during this period . atomic and solar are the two hardheaded options for this , so there ’s already a lot of focus on develop these systems for future missions .
In many way , it ’s actually easier to broadcast power to the synodic month than to Earth . The moon has no atmosphere or cloud cover to get in the way of power transmitting . And power demand would be far low for a lunar home than they would be for Earth .
So , if we call for to test blank - ground solar power solutions and we call for power for lunar missions , why not conflate the two ? “ The moon might well be a stepping stone to develop the key technologies to show how [ place - base solar power ] works on a much small shell , ” Summerer say .
Closer than you think
All of this lecture of progressing engineering and next developments might have you suppose that such a system is 10 out . But experts like Summerer conceive we could see quad - based solar powerfulness sour far earlier than that .
“ An in - orbit demonstration is feasible relatively chop-chop , ” Summerer enunciate , depending on the size of the system . He thinks that a demo system , intended to test the technology but not actually ply usable power , could be developed within just five twelvemonth .
As for when we might see such technology in practical use of goods and services , some people on Earth might be using power from a little space - based solar system by the mid-2030s .
That ’ll be just in clip for the 100 - year day of remembrance of the publication of Asimov ’s write up . A century to take a conception from notional skill fable to concrete scientific world ? That ’s not a bad timeline for doing the out of the question .
