The Air Force Wants To Beam Solar Power From Space Back to Earth

[rangerrebew]

The Air Force Wants To Beam Solar Power From Space Back to Earth

The system would provide electricity to remote outposts, removing the need for dangerous convoys.
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By Kyle Mizokami   
Nov 4, 2019
 
    In today’s war zones, remote outposts are often serviced by fuel convoys.
    Reliance on liquid fuel endangers troops who have to transport it.
    Solar power, collected in space, could be beamed to outposts.

The U.S. Air Force is investigating beaming collected in space down to the Earth, providing remote military outposts with all the electricity they would need. The method would cut down on the number of fuel-laden armed convoys that often have to travel through dangerous territory, where they are vulnerable to attack.

The service is partnering with defense contractor Northrop Grumman on the Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstration and Research project, or SSPIDR for short. SSPIDR would use solar power panels in space to collect power, convert it to radio frequencies and then beam it down to remote outposts.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a29687992/air-force-solar-power-space/

[Cyber Liberty]

Like a magnifying glass to ants....

[Elderberry]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power

Space-based solar power (SBSP) is the concept of collecting solar power in outer space and distributing it to Earth. Potential advantages of collecting solar energy in space include a higher collection rate and a longer collection period due to the lack of a diffusing atmosphere, and the possibility of placing a solar collector in an orbiting location where there is no night. A considerable fraction of incoming solar energy (55–60%) is lost on its way through the Earth's atmosphere by the effects of reflection and absorption. Space-based solar power systems convert sunlight to microwaves outside the atmosphere, avoiding these losses and the downtime due to the Earth's rotation, but at great cost due to the expense of launching material into orbit. SBSP is considered a form of sustainable or green energy, renewable energy, and is occasionally considered among climate engineering proposals. It is attractive to those seeking large-scale solutions to anthropogenic climate change or fossil fuel depletion (such as peak oil).

Various SBSP proposals have been researched since the early 1970s,[1][2] but none are economically viable with present-day space launch infrastructure. Some technologists speculate that this may change in the distant future if an off-world industrial base were to be developed that could manufacture solar power satellites out of asteroids or lunar material, or if radical new space launch technologies other than rocketry should become available in the future.

Besides the cost of implementing such a system, SBSP also introduces several technological hurdles, including the problem of transmitting energy from orbit to Earth's surface for use. Since wires extending from Earth's surface to an orbiting satellite are neither practical nor feasible with current technology, SBSP designs generally include the use of some manner of wireless power transmission with its concomitant conversion inefficiencies, as well as land use concerns for the necessary antenna stations to receive the energy at Earth's surface. The collecting satellite would convert solar energy into electrical energy on board, powering a microwave transmitter or laser emitter, and transmit this energy to a collector (or microwave rectenna) on Earth's surface. Contrary to appearances of SBSP in popular novels and video games, most designs propose beam energy densities that are not harmful if human beings were to be inadvertently exposed, such as if a transmitting satellite's beam were to wander off-course. But the vast size of the receiving antennas that would be necessary would still require large blocks of land near the end users to be procured and dedicated to this purpose. The service life of space-based collectors in the face of challenges from long-term exposure to the space environment, including degradation from radiation and micrometeoroid damage, could also become a concern for SBSP.

SBSP is being actively pursued by Japan, China,[3] and Russia. In 2008 Japan passed its Basic Space Law which established Space Solar Power as a national goal[4] and JAXA has a roadmap to commercial SBSP. In 2015 the China Academy for Space Technology (CAST) showcased their roadmap at the International Space Development Conference.