New NASA Report Suggests We Could See Space-Based Power After 2050

Space-based solar power has been in the news recently, with the successful test of a solar power demonstrator in space taking place last summer. While the concept is fundamentally sound, there are plenty of hurdles to overcome if the technology is to be widely adopted – not the least of which is cost.

Those two data points were analyzed for two different systems, one modular one called the SPS-Alpha Mark-III suggested by prolific inventor John Mankins, which is a little more theoretical, and another by a group of Japanese researchers called the Tethered-SPS that uses a more traditional design. In most of the calculations the report provides, the SPS-Alpha Mark-III outperforms the more conventional system.

Also, as of right now, no ISAM infrastructure could support such a massive satellite. So if any part of the system fails while in space, which, given the nature of the environment, is inevitable, there wouldn’t be any feasible way to fix it. Like lowering launch costs, this, too, is being worked on by several commercial entities. However, the inability to maintain infrastructure in orbit inexpensively will plague cost assessments of any large project in the near future.

To do so requires some great leaps in technology; in particular, using other technologies, like increased ISAM and ion drives to move the parts from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit, can dramatically limit the number of launches needed. Other improvements include optimistic standards for cost analysis, such as lower launch costs and increasing the lifetime of the equipment itself.

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