Harnessing Solar Power from Space
Sep-04-13
As an alternative to current energy sources, NASA veteran John Mankins has proposed building a flower-shaped, solar energy collector in space.The orbital solar plant, with tentative plans to launch by 2025, is made extremely efficient by the use of small modules that work together like a swarm of ants. Called the Solar Power Satellite via Arbitrarily Large PHased Array (or SPS-ALPHA), it would be equipped with a many thin-film mirrors that would concentrate the sunlight onto a central photovoltaic element at the back of the array. That solar energy would then be sent back to earth as in the form of radio waves and collected by a massive microwave receiver dish.
Mankins hopes to prototype the SPS-ALPHA quickly, in three-year increments before the fourth generation is launched in 2025.
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This is clearly a great idea, cant we have smaller versions of the same system just a bout 500 mtr from the ground to generate electricity. What about big tall building windows being self generators of electricity can this happen or already exist.
Posted by sheri Verghese on September 6, 2013
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This is clearly a great idea, cant we have smaller versions of the same system just a bout 500 mtr from the ground to generate electricity. What about big tall building windows being self generators of electricity can this happen or already exist.
Posted by sheri Verghese on September 6, 2013
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