It's time to seriously consider space-based solar power

摘要

In the late 1960s, enterprising scientist Peter Glaser proposed using orbiting satellites to collect incoming solar radiation, transform it into microwaves, and beam it down to focused receivers on Earth where it would be converted into electricity. Although space-based solar power (SBSP) sounds like science fiction, scientists and engineers have explored developing the futuristic technology for decades but repeatedly came to the same conclusion: SBSP is likely technologically possible but for it to be feasible, launch costs will have to come down considerably. Now that companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Rocket Lab have demonstrated re-use capabilities and launch costs are plummeting, it is time to think seriously and boldly about the development of SBSP.