US successfully beams solar power from space to Earth for first time

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have conducted the world’s first wireless power transmission experiment in space.

For the first time detectable electricity is transmitted to Earth, New Atlas 5/6 was reported. Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) towards the exploitation of an almost unlimited source of clean energy in orbit.

MAPLE module in the experiment to transmit electricity from space to Earth.

MäPLE module in the space-to-Earth electricity transmission experiment. (Photo: Caltech).

space solar energy can solve many clean energy problems on earth. The orbiting power generation complex can harvest sunlight 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, unaffected by the atmosphere or weather conditions. In theory, solar cells in space could produce eight times more output per square meter than solar cells on Earth.

As a result, several research groups are working to harness this energy, despite major challenges. One of them is the required size of the photovoltaic panel. The size of commercial solar cells must reach 9 km2. The receiving system on Earth must also be as large to collect the energy transmitted to the ground. That takes 39 launches, even with the battery of self-deploying ultralight smart modules the Caltech team is developing. Their product consists of a series of modules, each of which has a volume of about one cubic meter when launched, but can be stretched into a giant flat square, each side is 50 meters long, with a solar cell of one side and a wireless generator on the other side.

Space Solar Power Test System (SSPD-1) weighing 50 kg was placed on the Momentus Vigoride spacecraft and launched into low orbit by a SpaceX rocket on January 3 this year. SSPD-1 is designed to test 3 small modules.

• DOLCE module check the design and implementation of the structure of the ultralight rod.
• ALBA module Test a range of different solar cell designs to see which is the most space efficient.
• MAPLE module (Low Orbit Microwave Transmission Experiment) tests the technology of wireless transmission of electricity to Earth, to a ground signal receiving station without any moving parts at the transmitter.

A section of MAPLE is testing short-range power transmission, in which the transmitter transmits power to two different receivers 30 centimeters apart, to test the team’s beam control technology. As a result, they were able to light up tiny LEDs on each receiver at will.

MAPLE also spent a short time using a transmitter to send a beam of energy directly to Earth, to a receiver on the roof of a Baltech tech lab in Pasadena. This experiment was successful. The energy beam was detected by the ground station at the scheduled time and frequency. This demonstrates the team’s ability to direct the energy beam to a precise target at a distance xɑ and confirms that the associated device works well after the trip to orbit.

Article source: VnExpress