© Courtesy of CNET Caltech's Space Solar Power Demonstrator will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in early January. CaltechSolar energy is currently on everyone's lips. In late 2022, American scientists announced a nuclear fusion breakthrough that could provide the world with a virtually unlimited source of clean, renewable energy within decades.
In fact, we've been using solar energy the other way around for decades. Solar panels can convert the rays of the stars into energy here on Earth without releasing harmful greenhouse gases into the air. The only downside is that the panels cannot deliver sustained power. On cloudy days, the sun's rays cannot reach the earth. And of course the sun doesn't shine at night.
So why not put solar panels in space ? You can enjoy almost unlimited solar power around the clock. Science legend Isaac Asimov wrote "The Reason" about the earth possessing such power. The idea would be to collect energy on the satellite and send that energy home. Scientists have been trying to figure out how solar energy from space could power our world since the Apollo program , but satellites have been prohibitively expensive to build and launch.
This month, thanks to a major philanthropic donation in 2013, Caltech scientists are taking the first steps towards a solar-powered future in space. The Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD), a 110-pound prototype designed to test key technologies across three experiments, launched Tuesday, Jan. 3 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The ultimate goal is to place a constellation of solar panels in space that could be over half a mile in diameter, forming a space power plant that would then transmit solar energy back to Earth. This process involves the wireless transmission of electricity, converting radio waves into electricity on the ground where receivers can convert the electricity for use on power grids. (Caltech has a good explanation of how to effectively funnel this energy into the earth.)
Flying into orbit attached to the Momentus Vigoride spacecraft, the SSPD will deploy a 6 square foot structure to evaluate the deployment mechanisms of space solar arrays known as DOLCE, the Ultralight Composite Orbital Deployment Experiment. . Another instrument, ALBA, will analyze 22 different types of photovoltaic cells to see how they behave in the extreme environment of space, and a third, MAPLE, will test energy transfer mechanisms using an array of microemitters.
"We plan to order the deployment of DOLCE after receiving SSPD access from Momentus. We need to know immediately if DOLCE is working," Caltech civil engineer Sergio Pellegrino said in a press release.
The implementation is in a way the easy part. The demonstrator has been tested on Earth, but its performance in space remains to be seen. The ALBA and MAPLE experiments will take much longer because scientists want to see how they behave over time and in different environments.
"Anyway, this prototype is a big step forward," Caltech engineer and deputy director Ali Hajimiri said in a press release.
However, space solar energy is not a magic bullet against the climate crisis. We already have solar technology and ways to store energy when the sun isn't shining here on Earth. There are also potential issues with building power plants on an already congested highway and the overall cost of the project. However, space-based solar energy could bring power to areas of the world that currently lack reliable access to energy, providing a clean source of energy to power the planet day and night.
Update January 3: Added successful launch of SSPD on Falcon 9.
