Power

U.S. Airforce trying to harvest solar energy from space

Airforce solar space

The United States Airforce is developing a top-notch technology that would harvest solar energy from space, and then send it back to earth. This development would give U.S. armed forces a great advantage on the battlefield. However, the technology aims at becoming ultimately available for civilian use.

Firstly, the harvesting process would occur through solar panels installed in satellites; then, the satellites would beam the energy back to earth. Achieving this technology would help armed forces in the battlefield, officials say, quoted by specialized media.

Secondly, currently, the U.S. Airforce supplies its military based through trucks that send fuel and other goods like electricity. However, those trucks are vulnerable to attacks from the air, or from the ground.

Consequently, this new project, called Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research Project (SSPIDR) would allow to harvest the solar energy and then send it back to earth. The project would use a beam straight down to the outpost.

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Airforce making joint efforts to develop and mature this technology

Thirdly, such technology would not be affected by latitude, climate, or time. Indeed, it could send the energy without cables or any device of the sort.

Moreover, the U.S. Airforce Research Laboratory (AFRL), through a YouTube video, explains that using solar energy for military use is not precisely a new idea. Nevertheless, it was determined by on-ground mounted panels. And those are limited by the area, and the size of the panels; they are also very vulnerable for attacks.

However, “if the solar panels were in orbit, they would have unlimited access to the sun rays; providing an uninterrupted supply of energy.” The project would install highly efficient solar panels onto satellites, and then convert the solar power onto radio energy. Such frequencies would travel down to the earth, and then converted into electricity.

Finally, the AFRL describes the Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research Project (SSPIDR) as a series of integrated demonstrations and technology maturation efforts; ones that would establish a new form of harvesting energy in the coming decades.

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