Marciu73 OP t1_ixm9r3b wrote on November 24, 2022 at 2:56 PM

It’s a small step, but it could start an incredible journey.

Today, the ministerial council of the European Space Agency (ESA) said it would proceed with a feasibility study into space-based solar power (SBSP) generation.

The decision, thrashed out among ESA member-country ministers over 22-23 November in Paris, means SBSP is now formally on the ESA’s strategic agenda.

The idea is eventually to launch big solar-farm satellites into orbit around Earth so they can harvest the Sun’s energy outside Earth’s atmosphere, where it’s more intense, and beam it wirelessly to receivers on Earth.

l0gicowl t1_ixmxne7 wrote on November 24, 2022 at 5:48 PM

It's very cool and has such a sci-fi vibe to it. Pretty much limitless energy, able to be sent down anywhere on Earth's surface.

It'll take time for the tech to become viable of course, but as costs for getting material into space continue to become cheaper and cheaper over time, I see no reason that this couldn't become real one day.

Viper_63 t1_ixuojg9 wrote on November 26, 2022 at 2:40 PM

>It'll take time for the tech to become viable of course, but as costs for getting material into space continue to become cheaper and cheaper over time, I see no reason that this couldn't become real one day.

Plenty of reasons, basic physics for one. Nor will launch costs continue to drop to a level to make this viable, at least not with chemical rocket technology alone (and no, "spin launch" isn't what I am referring to).

>It's very cool and has such a sci-fi vibe to it.

Which the only reason this crops up again every few decades. This is not about "the tech becoming viable". Unless you want to sent a literal death ray into orbit the math simply doesn't add up (on the other, the math does add up for the involved companies as far as money is concerned).