Japan will soon launch a tiny satellite no bigger than a washing machine that captures sunlight in space and beams it down as microwaves to Earth. If it works, it could show us a way to get clean solar power day and night, without worrying about clouds or darkness.
slam_to on
Can’t we already do that? Isn’t it called a PV solar cell?
DasEvoli on
The reality of a Dyson Spheres comes closer and closer
Malforus on
We’re still doing “beaming energy from space” when Photovoltaics have cracked 38% efficiency?
This is just a weapons loft program dressed up as Greenzo-drag.
ChromozomRay on
I know this isn’t relevant to this topic but we truly getting Satellite Cannon in future( if you know, you know fellow Gundam fan)
casualgamerTX55 on
If true, conventional wisdom dictates this will be used as a weapon first before anything else lol
Coffee-and-puts on
The ion cannon as fortold by the command and conquer franchise
tab6678 on
This was theorized in the 1970s. I remember going to a planetarium show in Toronto in 1975, when the star show animation explained this very concept. I was so impressed, I did a Grade 12 science class paper on it.
WardenEdgewise on
Doesn’t the sun already beam energy to earth from space?
Drone30389 on
> The initial output will only be about one kilowatt—just enough to run a coffee maker or power a dishwasher for an hour.
Once again the confusion between power and energy rears its ugly head.
bitchman194639348 on
Japan has successfully killed the wither, and now has the resources necessary to activate a beacon
Underwater_Karma on
Considering that this is a wildly impractical idea, vastly more expensive and less efficient than land based solar, it seems obvious that military applications are the actual end goal
Master_Engineering_9 on
feels like this is a plot to some dystopian cyberpunk anime
greentoiletpaper on
I feel like space based solar, even with theoretical future 100% efficient panels will always be a total waste of CO2 compared to just using the panels on earth, even if launches were free
No way around the inverse square law
TheBraindonkey on
That Mayor in Texas is gonna start freaking out again…
Just1n_Kees on
Wow that is so cool, I remember reading/seeing this at work almost 20 years ago. Back then they managed to power on devices over the distance of a few meters, but it was actually wireless energy at work.
They talked about this very concept, amazing to see it reach this stage of development.
koolman2 on
I’ve played enough SimCity 2000 to know this is a bad idea.
Storyteller-Hero on
“Don’t worry about the giant lasers coming from orbit. Just look up and gaze in awe at the net we’ve made in the sky. We even hooked it up with a self-learning AI to keep things running efficiently.”
On a serious note though, being able to get clean energy through satellite relays could be made consistent throughout the day if we set up enough of them at strategic points in orbit. I’m worried about junk debris though. Even if a small piece comes loose, that’s a bullet flying through space at high velocities for any shuttles or stations trying to navigate through the area.
squirrelgator on
Why am I picturing a bad sci-fi movie involving giant monsters?
argama87 on
Can’t do that without making Satellite Cannon equipped Mobile Suits to use it.
TheDukeofArgyll on
Hmm, capturing solar energy that would have otherwise not been capture by the earth? What effect on climate change will that have I wonder?
Morall_tach on
Never going to work. The difficulty of putting these into space will never be outweighed by the relatively tiny amount of energy they produce.
Also, never trust an article that doesn’t know the difference between power and energy.
>The initial output will only be about one kilowatt—just enough to run a coffee maker or power a dishwasher for an hour.
Not how that works.
CyanConatus on
I had no idea we could generate power with radio waves via antennas. That’s quite interesting.
CardinalOfNYC on
Key word there is “plan”
Microwave power from space has been a dream since the dawn of the space age and just like fusion, it’s always been 20 years away.
I’ll believe it when it’s delivering power to real people at commercial scale, just like fusion.
Jock-Tamson on
Old idea. I wrote a school report on this technology in 1989.
The real engineering advances are always boring technical improvements in material science and manufacturing.
mintysoul on
seems like a good way to make global warming worse, lets gets some extra heat
Slavir_Nabru on
I’m a big fan of beamed power but as I understand it, there are severe limitations that for now seem insurmountable as a major component of Earths energy grid.
Microwave, such as is being proposed needs insane amount of land area dedicated to receiving the power, such that solar panels on Earth are likely to compete for energy density.
Laser, the other proposed method, is an orbital death-ray in waiting.
Good solution for the Moon and Mars eventual energy grids though.
27 Comments
Japan will soon launch a tiny satellite no bigger than a washing machine that captures sunlight in space and beams it down as microwaves to Earth. If it works, it could show us a way to get clean solar power day and night, without worrying about clouds or darkness.
Can’t we already do that? Isn’t it called a PV solar cell?
The reality of a Dyson Spheres comes closer and closer
We’re still doing “beaming energy from space” when Photovoltaics have cracked 38% efficiency?
This is just a weapons loft program dressed up as Greenzo-drag.
I know this isn’t relevant to this topic but we truly getting Satellite Cannon in future( if you know, you know fellow Gundam fan)
If true, conventional wisdom dictates this will be used as a weapon first before anything else lol
The ion cannon as fortold by the command and conquer franchise
This was theorized in the 1970s. I remember going to a planetarium show in Toronto in 1975, when the star show animation explained this very concept. I was so impressed, I did a Grade 12 science class paper on it.
Doesn’t the sun already beam energy to earth from space?
> The initial output will only be about one kilowatt—just enough to run a coffee maker or power a dishwasher for an hour.
Once again the confusion between power and energy rears its ugly head.
Japan has successfully killed the wither, and now has the resources necessary to activate a beacon
Considering that this is a wildly impractical idea, vastly more expensive and less efficient than land based solar, it seems obvious that military applications are the actual end goal
feels like this is a plot to some dystopian cyberpunk anime
I feel like space based solar, even with theoretical future 100% efficient panels will always be a total waste of CO2 compared to just using the panels on earth, even if launches were free
No way around the inverse square law
That Mayor in Texas is gonna start freaking out again…
Wow that is so cool, I remember reading/seeing this at work almost 20 years ago. Back then they managed to power on devices over the distance of a few meters, but it was actually wireless energy at work.
They talked about this very concept, amazing to see it reach this stage of development.
I’ve played enough SimCity 2000 to know this is a bad idea.
“Don’t worry about the giant lasers coming from orbit. Just look up and gaze in awe at the net we’ve made in the sky. We even hooked it up with a self-learning AI to keep things running efficiently.”
On a serious note though, being able to get clean energy through satellite relays could be made consistent throughout the day if we set up enough of them at strategic points in orbit. I’m worried about junk debris though. Even if a small piece comes loose, that’s a bullet flying through space at high velocities for any shuttles or stations trying to navigate through the area.
Why am I picturing a bad sci-fi movie involving giant monsters?
Can’t do that without making Satellite Cannon equipped Mobile Suits to use it.
Hmm, capturing solar energy that would have otherwise not been capture by the earth? What effect on climate change will that have I wonder?
Never going to work. The difficulty of putting these into space will never be outweighed by the relatively tiny amount of energy they produce.
Also, never trust an article that doesn’t know the difference between power and energy.
>The initial output will only be about one kilowatt—just enough to run a coffee maker or power a dishwasher for an hour.
Not how that works.
I had no idea we could generate power with radio waves via antennas. That’s quite interesting.
Key word there is “plan”
Microwave power from space has been a dream since the dawn of the space age and just like fusion, it’s always been 20 years away.
I’ll believe it when it’s delivering power to real people at commercial scale, just like fusion.
Old idea. I wrote a school report on this technology in 1989.
The real engineering advances are always boring technical improvements in material science and manufacturing.
seems like a good way to make global warming worse, lets gets some extra heat
I’m a big fan of beamed power but as I understand it, there are severe limitations that for now seem insurmountable as a major component of Earths energy grid.
Microwave, such as is being proposed needs insane amount of land area dedicated to receiving the power, such that solar panels on Earth are likely to compete for energy density.
Laser, the other proposed method, is an orbital death-ray in waiting.
Good solution for the Moon and Mars eventual energy grids though.