Technology & Nature in New England

HI 100 / WR 100 R. S. Deese Boston University Fall, 2009

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Space Based Solar Power




This video is about an upcoming method of creating energy from the sun. Solar panels are put on satellites in space, allowing them to collect energy 24 hours a day without any distruptions from clouds or other atmospheric problems.
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1 comment:

  1. Keith HensonNovember 14, 2009 at 8:02 PM

    It turns out there is a problem with low mass power satellites, they take a large resupply of reaction mass to counter light pressure.

    But if we can get the lift cost to GEO down to around $100/kg we can make them 5 kg/kW and that problem goes away. It also might be possible to build them with heat engines that are more efficient than solar cells and that reduces the light pressure problem as well because the power sats are only about 1/4 as large.

    Email me if you are interested in the details.

    hkeithhenson@gmail.com

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