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Learning about Solar in Space

Earth Sun While utilities and solar companies are searching for land and permits for solar power plants, members of the military and other solar researchers are offering up a much bigger solution. They are proposing a space-based solar power program. These proponents note that sunlight in space is constant (no pesky sunsets to deal with) and much more intense than here on earth. That means a nearly immeasurable potential for solar energy.

How does it work? Huge mirrors, or reflectors, collect the sunlight, which is then concentrated by a second set of mirrors. The concentrated sunlight is redirected onto photovoltaic cells, which convert it into radio energy that can then be beamed down to earth where receivers wait to collect that energy and connect it as electricity to the existing power grid. Simple.

This is obviously no small feat and the collaborative that supports space-based solar power have no illusions about this being well into our energy future. But they assert that the essentials of the technology are already here. It is more a matter of finding very ambitious funding sources, either in or out of the government institutions.

To exercise their point, a documentary has been made to reach out to students: the kids who will someday be the engineers, researchers, and astronauts implementing these “solar satellites.” The film, called Powering the Planet, is showing on the Futures Channel. It is very much a science class documentary, complete with that tinny-sounding, upbeat, industrial Muzak and textbook computer graphics.

Powering the Planet is a glimpse into some fascinating technology and an attempt to show students what algebra and physics could mean for their future.

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