A space satellite launched in January managed to send solar energy captured in space to Earth. In fact, the device transmitted the energy to other targets in space, but a part of these microwaves was directed towards the planet.
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The novelty was announced by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), on June 1st. "Nobody has done this before," said space scientist Sanjay Vijendran of the European Space Agency (ESA). “They [researchers] are bringing credibility to the subject by demonstrating this capacity”, he added.
Capturing solar energy from space is an old dream
Collecting the sun's energy directly in space and sending it to Earth is one of humanity's great dreams. After all, the Sun has 100% clean and “infinite” energy that can be used by humans in everyday life in different ways.
NASA even planned a demonstration mission during the energy crisis of the 1970s. But, with the technology of the time, transported by the Space Shuttle and assembled by astronauts, the mission would have cost around US$ 1 trillion.
Currently, there are new perspectives on the subject. Solar cells and microwave beams are cheaper and more efficient. Robots capable of assembling structures will soon be in orbit, and companies like SpaceX reduced the cost of launches.
Recent studies commissioned by the ESA and the UK government suggest that giant generators in orbit will soon be able to generate electricity at costs comparable to terrestrial nuclear power plants.
New advances
The Caltech mission, funded by the Donald Bren Foundation and Northrop Grumman Corporation, aimed to go one step further with lightweight, inexpensive and flexible components.
The microwave power transmitter was an array of 32 flat antennas placed on a surface slightly larger than a tabletop dish.
By varying the timing of the signals sent to the different antennas, the researchers were able to direct the array's beam. They pointed at a pair of microwave receivers about a forearm's distance away and shifted the beam from one receiver to the other at will, lighting an LED on each.
Interest in space-based solar energy seems to be gaining momentum. ESA commissioned two studies this year on potential architectures for orbiting power stations.
Startup company Virtus Solis Technologies is also testing power transmission and plans to launch a pilot plant into orbit in 2026. CEO John Bucknell says the company intends to offer commercial power to customers before the end of the decade.
“Space solar energy is the only technology of clean, steady, scalable energy [with] a credible path to real zero-carbon emissions,” as Science.org points out.
