Space-Based Solar Power is the new buzz, at least for difficult to supply battlezones. And the US Department of Defense has come up with some new ideas about how to make it work…
Power from space? Pentagon likes the idea – Space News – MSNBC.com
…the Internet-way of generating the ideas was, of course, to blog on it – and they were flooded by new ideas on just how to overcome the problems of past conceptual studies. One new idea is to use mirrors to focus onto a combined photovoltaic/antenna system. The advantage is that the heavy power distribution system of traditional designs is eliminated as well as a moving slip-ring power-transfer system between the rotating collectors and the antenna complex. That’s a lot of weight cut out, plus a reduction in the amount of PVs needed. The PV-antenna system also gravity anchors the whole assembly, pointing the business end at the market – the Earth below.
And the DoD is pushing for megawatt demonstrators in the next few years, which is a fantastic idea for creating raw data on just how well a power-beaming system works busting through the atmosphere and being converted from waves to volts.
