Palau and Pentagon Looking to Harness Solar Energy from Space
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 12.27.07
Image courtesy of NASA
Reprising a topic we've covered before - the harnessing of solar energy from space - we bring you the latest on a joint venture between the U.S. Department of Defense and Palau to test the feasibility of using satellites to beam down "affordable, clean, safe, reliable, sustainable, and expandable energy for mankind."
At first glance, the small island nation of Palau might seem like an unusual partner for such a venture; according to Kevin Reed, an American entrepreneur heading a U.S.-Swiss-German consortium that seeks to bring the type of ultralight solar panel technology needed for the satellites, however, its uninhabited Helen Island would provide the ideal testing ground for a small demonstration.
As part of the demonstration, a 260-foot-diameter "rectifying antenna," or rectenna, would be set up to collect 1 MW from a satellite orbiting some 300 miles above - enough to power about 1,000 homes. The satellites would move over a target area every 90 minutes or so and take 5 minutes to transmit energy down to Earth to be stored or used immediately. Such a project, which Reed explained would "be intended to show its safety for everything else," could be completed by 2012.
Tommy Remengesau Jr., Palau's president, and the Pentagon are certainly keen on the idea: A report prepared for the National Security Space Office concluded that space power could offer a huge potential source of energy for the DOD's operations; at the same time, it could provide an economic boost to the Pacific nation and favorable place it as a leader in the technology.
Via ::Associated Press: "Drilling Up" -- Some Look to Space for Energy (news website)
See also: ::Going Solar in Space, ::Orbiting Space Power Systems Would Convert Sunlight into Laser Beams
Putting solar panels in space is a moronic idea. They haven't even considered off-shore floating platforms, and they're already talking about launching them into space? What kind of idiocy is that?
Launching it into space has no real benefits; it will cost way more than it needs to, and maintenance will be extremely expensive. For the cost of launching a space based array, you could build a much larger terrestrial array, with money to spare.
Until every last warehouse rooftop is covered in solar panels, and every parking lot is covered with shaded car ports topped with solar panels, and off shore floating platforms have been tried, they should not even seriously consider launching panels into space.
It boggles my mind how people can say that solar power is too expensive, and then jump straight to absolutely impractical solutions such as this that make it even more expensive before even trying a serious campaign to deploy solar panels pervasively on the ground.
How much freaking energy does it take to launch a dang solar panel into space? Frigging morons!
DOD involved?
Consider science fiction outerspace death ray weapons. Here's the start. 1 megawatt pointed at a target, mmmm toasty.
Considering that the reliability of solar is one of the biggest drawbacks, this is a clever solution. And if I'm reading things right, it would give power 24/7. Also consider that it would prevent some sunlight from hitting the earth, reducing global warming. And I'm betting the DoD is interested because it has the potential to be more portable. Rather than lug a generator and takers of diesel into a war zone, you'd just need a big receiving dish. Makes sense to me.
We had an opportunity to "go green"and get a jump on the rest of the world during the Carter administration when Iran did its embargo thing. What did we do instead? Switched from predominantly passenger vehicles to pickups and SUVs with lousy mileage.
I realize that we are here, now, and we have to forget the past and deal with what confronts us now, but if you want to talk about morons...
The benefit is that the efficiency of energy collection is manyfold higher in space than on the ground and the panels take up no valuable ground space. If done on a large scale this could privide all the energy we need, even to remote areas reducing the need for incredibly expensive transmission networks, and provide a boost to the space program.
@justin
you can't have it both ways ... either it's 24/7 power or it is sometimes shaded by (and shades) the earth. Add to that a 90 min orbit and it can only transmit for 5 min. That means the additional launch weight of power storage gear (for the 85 min. of non-transmit time), plus more power storage, generating losses, inverting, and power transmission on the ground.
They're saying it'll ONLY cost $800 million for a 1 MegaWatt system -- that's only 100 to 150 times the cost of putting solar on the ground. Even if you account for 5 times the power output for it being in space, that's still 20 to 30 times the cost.
That fact is that it will cost more like (at least) 2.5 billion and don't even get me started on the maintenance costs. This thing will be a giant space debris catcher -- do you know of ANY substance that will withstand multiple impacts from nuts and bolts travelling at 20 to 30 thousand mph? The last time the shuttle broke an outer window, it was from a fleck of paint ! Because of the shear magnitude of putting anything into space, "economy of scale" has a micro-minimal impact on cost reductions.
I''m pretty much an "outside the box", optimistic inventor type, but anyone who believes that this is viable solution to our energy woes should be institutionalized. You'd be better off giving all of your money to a heroin addict and sending them to Amsterdam.
This is absolutely nothing more than DOD pork.
OK ... maybe IF we had a proven, reliable, and low cost electro-mag launch system AND MAYBE THEN IF we did it on a stable platform/surface like the Moon AND ONLY IF we had manned lunar bases AND ONLY IF we could manufacture the panels at that base AND THEN ONLY IF we coould also manufacture the power storage systems AND ONLY IF ...
Anyone want to buy a nice bridge I've got for sale ? :)
You guys are missing the point. Portable power to any spot on the earth, day or night.
Can't be detected by the enemy (unlike say a diesel engine).
This has nothing to do with green, and everything to do with the military.
Save your indignation for something real.
Mike
This is absolutely nothing more than DOD pork."
I think we have a winner here.
Powersat flies by once every 90 min – a total of 16 times in one 24 hour period. Downloads power for 5 min. A total of 80 minutes ‘download’ time. How this translates into 1MW of power for 1,000 homes is a bit more than ‘vague’.
The “inverse square law” -- for the math inclined - doubling the distance from a transmitter means that the power density of the radiated wave at that new location is reduced to one-quarter of its previous value.
This math means the space portion of the proposed system must have one POWERFUL transmitter. If a 260 ft diameter rectenna produces 1 MW in 5 minutes, the satellite must, as a matter of course, have a transmitter many times more powerful
The related point raised by these power levels - that ANY large, multi-megawatt microwave transmitter in space has at least the potential to be used as a weapons system, has merit. Not on ground targets as such, but it could certainly be used to fry other satellites in orbit. So for this one, I hope this IS just DoD fantasy/pork and not some horrible back door weaponization of space.
Maybe it's just me, but I would much rather see the money proposed for this Buck Rogers scheme used in the USofA- starting to cover large areas of AZ and NV with panels and put the power onto the grid NOW, and not spend OUR increasingly scarce dollarettes on pie-in-the-sky (sorry, couldn’t help myself) projects as this.
As always, YMMV.
@Mike (and others)
What universe do you live in? Just curious as to why you believe this is undetectable? Whether the beam is IR, visible light, or microwave, it is very easily detectable with off-the-shelf technologies. Every hear of atmospheric diffraction? At the intensities that they are talking about, there will be plenty of scatter off of just the molecules of gas in the atmosphere, let alone any condensates, dust, soot, etc.
Portable? Now you're talking about a huge orbiting network of relay satellites (not unlike GPS network) plus all of the "portable" ground based receiver and power conversion gear (read: heat engine) that somehow magically does not put out any detectable waste heat (2nd law thermodynamics violation). Even if possible, we're now talking about TRILLIONS rather than billions. And I'd hate to be on the ground near a receiver when the system experiences a "hiccup"... ZAP !
We are so unbelievably far from making this work. And I'm not saying that this is running before walking, this is flying a fighter jet before crawling. The utter void of knowledge of science/economics in this country is the scariest thing.
This is also precisely how the powers that be, bleed dry the sheeple and peons, whilst fllushing their futures down the drain. "OOOH NEATO! Look, it's new and shiny and hi-tech !! They'll surely save us / keep us safer with this."
Use hi-tech and big words and scare the crap out of the populace while waving a flag and they can (and have) get away with just about anything.
This is pure, unadulterated DOD P.O.R.K. !!
(and I say this having worked under several legitimate DARPA grants in the past)
"Those who trade their liberty for security are not deserving of either" Benjamin Franklin
"One cannot solve the problems of the world with the same thinking that was use to creat them" Albert Einstein
Just an additional note.
Lest someone think of me as less than an “American” – I would point out that the USAF, at Nellis AFB (Las Vegas, NV), just turned up a 14MW solar power project – located on the base.
( see http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=7509408) The system can power 13,000 homes and provides 25% of the power used at the installation.
Cost to taxpayer?
ZIP.
The base buys the power under long term contract – at below local rates, no less.
IF even the USAF can make of go of this – what does that say about local utilities? Not enough profits?
Quit your whining people, this is just an experiment. One day this could lead to larger geosynchronous orbiting transmitters of a much larger scale. Sure they could've bought an extra bomber or two but we'll survive.
I wonder what method they're going to use to store the energy between pulses?
This sounds to me like a covert space weapon program. Obviously, considering all of the current international treaties and norms regarding the non-weaponization of space, any Pentagon project aimed at developing a space-based weapon would have to be labelled something else to be 'legal'. And whatever they decide to label it has to be minimally credible and acceptable. But considering how impractical this is as an energy source (for whatever purpose), the Pentagon must be aware that other countries (China, Russia, Iran, etc.) will realize that it is an attempt at creating a space weapon. It could be that the Pentagon is simply trying to scare some countries with this program. China tried to send a message to the US with the destruction of one of its satellites by long-range missile. The US could be sending a message back - either to China, to Russia, to Iran, or to all of them.
Most of you hit it on the head so I will reiterate the only thing we should be paying attention to here....
Department of Defense! Hello
Most of you hit it on the head so I will reiterate the only thing we should be paying attention to here....
Department of Defense! Hello
Does this sound like a space weapon to anyone but me? Lasers from space and no oversight committee? Hello?