Roscosmos has developed a project for a promising space power station that will transmit solar energy from space to Earth via a laser beam, the Roscosmos press service reports.
Specialists from the Russian Space Systems holding (RSS, part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) have completed work on a project for a promising solar space power station (SPS). The development will ensure a regular supply of alternative electricity to hard-to-reach – island, mountain and northern – regions of the Earth, regardless of weather conditions and time of day, and will also allow energy to be transferred to other spacecraft – for “planned recharging” and in case of emergency situations.
The SKES complex consists of two segments. The transmitting module is an unmanned spacecraft with an area of 70 m2, which accumulates solar energy and transmits it to Earth, and the receiving module is a system of ground-based mobile antennas (the so-called rectennas) with batteries that receive solar energy from the spacecraft via a laser channel and convert it into electricity and distributed to terrestrial consumers. The ship can also serve as an orbital “charging station” – transmitting energy to third-party satellites for prompt recharging.
The space power plant is equipped with a control device that allows for a balanced distribution of energy, as well as a buffer for the accumulation of excess solar energy.
Research engineer at the advanced equipment development department of the RKS Maria Barkova: “Due to the depletion of the Earth’s natural resources, the task of finding alternative energy sources is acute. In the atmosphere of our planet, the sun’s rays are scattered and almost completely lose their energy efficiency. However, in outer space the efficiency of using solar energy is tens of times higher. It can be converted into a laser beam and transmitted to Earth with minimal energy loss.
That is, humanity can draw energy in unlimited quantities in space from a renewable source – the Sun. This development is an excellent alternative to thermonuclear energy.”
Space power plants will be located in sun-synchronous orbits with inclinations of 82°, 90° and 98°. Accurate targeting of the laser beam to mobile ground rectennas will be ensured by a synchronizing software complex.
The developers have prepared a feasibility study for the creation of SKES. According to their estimates, the pilot station, consisting of one spacecraft and one rectenna, will pay for itself within 20 years and the energy generated from it in hard-to-reach areas will cost 2–6 rubles per 1 kWh. At the initial stage, regional authorities are considered as a potential customer.
The RKS station has competitors. For example, China is developing a project for a large station in geostationary orbit. But Russian scientists believe that collecting it in space will be too expensive. The Japanese propose to create a solar power station in low-stationary orbit, which will transmit energy to Earth via microwave waves. RKS says that this will be ineffective: microwaves have a greater beam divergence than lasers, which is fraught with large energy losses.
Another experiment on wireless transmission of electricity using laser radiation has been included in the scientific research program conducted on the Russian segment of the International Space Station.
“The long-term program of scientific experiments on the Russian segment of the ISS includes the Pelican space experiment – “Study of the transfer of electrical energy by laser radiation between spacecraft,” according to the report of specialists from the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (Roscosmos), presented at the XXII Scientific and technical conference of the corporation.
Remote transmission of electricity will first be tested at a distance of one kilometer with a gradual increase in power, and then at distances of up to five kilometers. This will be the first time such a space experiment has been carried out, and it is planned to create elements of the technology and a prototype system that could be used for various practical applications.
But that’s not all: it is assumed that 6G technology will allow charging electric cars and gadgets over the air. Energy transmission using 6G towers will be carried out by radio waves of a certain frequency between the antenna and the receiver. The waves themselves will be protected from electromagnetic influence from the outside. In this case, the beam will be able to pass through walls, mountains, forests and other obstacles. It will be possible to transmit electricity over long distances in the same way as using traditional power lines.