Power plants in space has been transformed from a delusion of being a serious prospect. Scientists hope they can immediately expand it.
It sounds like science fiction: solar power giant that emits huge amounts of energy to Earth.
For a long time, the concept of it – which was first developed by Russian scientist, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, in the 1920s – became the inspiration for the author.
However, a century later, scientists are making great strides to turn the concept into reality.
The European Space agency has seen the potential of it and now looking for a way to fund such projects.
They predict the first resources that we get from the outer space is “the energy that is emitted”.
Climate change is the biggest challenge at the moment, so there are a lot of things at stake.
From the rise in global temperatures to weather patterns shift, the impacts of climate change are already being felt around the world.
Overcoming this challenge will require a radical change in the way we produce and consume energy.
Renewable energy technology has evolved drastically in the last few years, with the improvement in terms of efficiency.
However these sources do not produce energy on a constant basis.
Producer of wind power and solar only produce energy when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining, while we need electricity all the time, every day.
In the end, we needed a way to store energy on a large scale before we can switch to renewable sources.
The benefits of space-ray
Possible ways to work around this is to generate energy from the sun in outer space.
There are many advantages of this way.
Solar power plant-based spacecraft can orbit the Sun 24 hours a day.
The earth’s atmosphere absorb and reflect some of the light of the sun, so the solar cells in the upper atmosphere will receive more sunlight and produce more energy.
But one of the main challenges that must be addressed is how to assemble, launch, and operate a large structure like that.
One solar power plant may have to be made with an area of 10 square km or the equivalent of 1,400 football field.
Using lightweight materials is also important, because the biggest cost is the time of the launch of the station into space with a rocket.
One proposed solution is to develop the thousands of satellites that are smaller are to be put together and configured to form a solar generator is great.
In 2017, researchers at the California Institute of Technology create a design for modular power plant, which consists of thousands of solar panels are very light.
They also demonstrate a prototype panel with a weight of 280g per square meter, similar to the weight of the cards.
Recently, the development of manufacturing, such as 3D printer, is also being investigated for its potential for use of space.
At the University of Liverpool, we’re exploring a new manufacturing technique to print solar cells are very light to the solar sail.
Solar sail membrane is a membrane that can be folded, lightweight, and highly reflective, which is able to utilize the effects of radiation pressure of Sunlight to propel spacecraft without fuel.
We’re exploring how to embed solar cells on the structure of the screen to create a large power plant, and free fuel.
This method allows us to build a power plant in space.
Indeed, one day later it is possible to create and launch units in outer space from the International Space Station or space station research in the orbit of the Moon (lunar gateway station).
Such a device can help provide power in Months.
The possibilities do not end there.
While today we rely on materials from the Earth to build a power plant, scientists also consider to use the resources of space for development, such as the materials found on the Moon.
But one of the main challenges ahead is to transmit power back to Earth.
The plan is to turn the electricity from the solar cells into a wave of energy and use electromagnetic fields to transfer them to the antenna on the surface of the earth.
The antenna will then change the wave back into electricity.
Researchers led by the Agency for the Exploration of Aerospace Japanese has developed a design and demonstrate the system orbiter intended to do so.
There is still much work to be done in this field, but the expected solar power in outer space will become a reality in the coming decades.
Researchers in China have designed a system called Omega, who they are targeting to operate in the year 2050.
This system is designed to be capable of supplying the power of 2GW to the Earth, which is the power that is very large. To produce the amount of power it with a solar panel on Earth, You need more than six million solar panels.
Satellite solar power is small, as it is designed to drive a vehicle explorers months, can operate more quickly.
Around the world, the scientific community is committed to developing solar power plants in space.
Our hope is that someday it could become important in our fight against climate change.
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