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wwarnout t1_ixd8alz wrote

Reply to comment by rebellious-rebel in The ESA aims to make 24/7 space-based solar energy harvesting a reality | Solaris program will study space-based solar power amid rising energy concerns by chrisdh79

Doing this efficiently is a formidable challenge.

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SeeTreeMe t1_ixedsa1 wrote

I don’t see how this could possibly be efficient with earth launched satellites, but I guess it’s good to test it for whenever we have options to build in space.

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Jobotics t1_ixgaviw wrote

electric to microwave is in the ball park of 80% and microwave to electric is about 85%, so 68% or so total. Though there may be atmospheric attenuation.

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dangle321 t1_ixs0vyr wrote

The real challenge is getting a physically large enough aperture to overcome the free space path loss. As a microwave engineer in the space industry, I really don't think it's feasible. Mostly, I don't think that spaced based solar would actually produce more than it's ground based equivalent over it's lifetime once you factor in the energy cost of getting it to orbit.

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