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Posted on March 18, 2019
China is investing globally to fill the void left by NASA. Space stations and satellites use solar panels for their energy needs, but NASA abandoned the concept of autonomous solar space after a few studies a few decades ago, ignoring John Mankins innovative ideas from JPL that could transform the way whose humans use technology in space.
"You can transfer electricity from Canada to Tierra del Fuego, at the southern end of South America, from a satellite located at the equator," said Mankins as an example of the global potential of China. "About a billion people live in the Americas."
"You do not have to deal with the cycles day and night, nor the clouds nor the seasons, so you have eight to nine times more power at your disposal," said Ali Hajimiri, professor. Electrical Engineer at the California Institute of Technology and Director of the University's Space Solar Power Project.
"If you can dramatically reduce the cost of solar space, you can conquer the essentials of the global energy market," said Mark Hopkins, a board member of the board of directors. National Space Society and former leader of Rand Corp.
"If you look at the next 50 years, the energy demand is huge," said Mankins. "If you can harvest sunlight where it's always sunny and provide it virtually uninterrupted on Earth – and you can do it all at an affordable price – you win."
China is about to launch its "artificial sun" – "clean energy without limit"
The details of the Chinese projects have not yet been made public, reports MACH, but Mankins explained that one way to exploit solar energy in the space would be to launch tens of thousands of "solar satellites" that would link together to form a huge cone-shaped structure in orbit. about 22,000 miles above the Earth, covered with the photovoltaic panels needed to convert sunlight into electricity, which would be converted to microwaves and wirelessly transmitted to ground-based receivers – giant nets measuring up to four miles.
Mankins estimates that such a solar installation could generate a steady flow of 2,000 gigawatts of energy. The largest terrestrial solar farms generate only about 1.8 gigawatts.
The interplanetary reflections of Mankins go beyond the way solar energy is already used for powering satellites and the International Space Station. During a 25-year career with NASA and CalTech's Reaction Propulsion Laboratory, he developed several concepts to extend the use of solar in space, including a solar-powered interplanetary transport vehicle. and a space energy system.
China creates a laser of bewildering power: "The space could be torn, breaking the void"
Mankin held senior research positions at NASA during the 1990s and 2000s, including supervising the $ 800 million Exploration Systems Technology and Research Group. Mankins – who now runs his own private aerospace company, Artemis Innovation Management Solutions – was tasked with determining whether there was a way to provide electricity to the planet by broadcasting it from CNBC space reports. It is an idea that could fundamentally reshape the idea of the utility sector and give it global control over the global power.
When the news recently announced that the idea – abandoned several decades ago by NASA – was coming back to life with a strong boost from the government, this was generating enthusiasm, CNBC said. "But it was not NASA that finally supported the idea. It's the Chinese government. "
China's ambitions in space compete with those of the United States. Its two main objectives were the origin of manned space flights (made in 2003) and a permanent Chinese space station, which is closer to reality. She announced in early March that a similarly-populated space station at ISS is now scheduled for 2022, earlier than planned. .
China plans a robotic lunar station and a far-end radio telescope – "A clear window to the cosmos" (VIDEO)
China has recently announced that during the next decade, it planned to complete the high voltage and wireless energy transmission tests needed for an energy system. solar energy in space, paving the way for the launch of small and medium sized solar energy projects in the country. The stratosphere will generate electricity between 2021 and 2025, followed by a solar power plant capable of generating at least one megawatt of electricity in 2030 and a commercial solar power station in the United States. space from here 2050.
"The interest dramatically declared by the Chinese will go a long way in generating interest," said Mankins. "About a decade ago, the Chinese began to work seriously in this area, and about five years ago, they started coming to international meetings. Before that, they were in the dark. Now they are coming out of the shadows and talking a lot more openly about that. There is absolutely progress of the Chinese at this stage. This is not posture; This is a real serious organization plan with reputed scientists in China. "
A solar power station would capture the solar energy that would never arrive on the planet and use laser beams to return it to Earth to meet the energy demand. In a recent announcement about the project, China said that one of the great advantages of solar energy is its ability to provide a constant and higher energy supply than solar parks without intermittent – this is due to the fact that the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow 24 hours a day, which limits the periods during which these projects can be a source of electricity production.
Space solar energy would not only provide a solution to intermittency, explains CNBC, but also to delivery. The electricity generated in space and near the equator could be broadcast almost everywhere in the world, with the exception of the poles.
A NASA spokeswoman said she is not currently studying space solar energy for use on Earth. It explores several advanced energy and energy technologies to enable long-term human exploration of the Moon and Mars, such as its Kilopower Project, a small light nuclear fission system that can feed future outposts on the moon to help astronauts, rovers and operations. Next year, this project should move from a ground test phase to a demonstration mission in space.
"There is a reason why birds like to sit on electric cables," observes Mankins, which poses a significant risk to the planet, which must be taken into account, including an increase in of temperature and unexpected consequences for different forms of life. But there is no difference as far as ultraviolet rays are concerned, and these concerns do not constitute "a known stalemate".
Read more here …
The Daily Galaxy via CNBC and NBC MACH
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