I've been trying to make a strong case for space-based solar power (SBSP) recently, but I got nothing on this guy. Meet the real SBSP cheerleader, President of Artemis Innovation Management Solutions LLC, John C. Mankins.
Mankins has had a distinguished technology innovation career in and out of NASA, and he has written a book which argues the case for SBSP.
You can get a good idea where Mankins is coming from by watching his TEDx talk. Notice how he dives right in and starts the presentation by mentioning the challenge of overcoming SBSP's present astronomical cost (OK, fine, pun intended).
SBSP has been in the research pipeline for decades, and, only a couple years ago, Mankins spearheaded an effort funded by NASA to address many of the issues raised by previous studies.
From the program's final report:
The vision of delivering solar power to Earth from platforms in space has been known for decades. However, early architectures to accomplish this vision were technically complex and unlikely to prove economically viable. Some of the issues with these earlier solar power satellite (SPS) concepts – particularly involving technical feasibility – were addressed by NASA’s space solar power (SSP) studies and technology research in the mid-to-late 1990s. Despite that progress, ten years ago a number of key technical and economic uncertainties remained. A new SPS concept has been proposed that resolves many, if not all, of those uncertainties: “SPS - ALPHA” (Solar Power Satellite by means of Arbitrarily Large Phased Array).
In other words, this latest SBSP research effort attempts to fix the remaining "technical and economic uncertainties."
SPS-ALPHA incorporates a number of critical new technologies, including: (1) WPT using a retro-directive RF phased array with high-efficiency solid-state amplifiers; (2) high-efficiency multi-bandgap PV solar cells, employed in a concentrator PV (CPV) architecture with integrated thermal management; (3) lightweight structural components, applied in various systems/subsystems; (4) autonomous robotics in a highly structured environment; and, (5) a high degree of autonomy among individual modules. However, no “breakthroughs” are required, and the key innovation is at the architecture level.
I made that last sentence bold text, because I think it's important. We don't have to invent anything new to make SBSP a reality. We have all the tech required in our hands already, and SPS-ALPHA takes it into the fold. The only innovation necessary is how we design it, or how we assemble it, the architecture.
As for the seemingly insurmountable economic issues of SBSP (I personally estimate present costs of satisfying all US energy demands at $10-$300 trillion...yup, trillion), this report will knock yer spaceboots off.
The study concluded that the SPS-ALPHA concept could – with needed technological advances – make possible the economically viable deliver of solar energy to markets on Earth. In particular, it appears that a full-scale SPS-ALPHA, when incorporating selected advances in key component technologies should be capable of delivering power at a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of approximately 9¢/kilowatt-hour...Although no breakthroughs in technology appear to be needed to realize SPS-ALPHA, transformational changes in how space systems are designed are needed. Additional research and development (R&D) will be required for confirmation of this very promising finding.
9¢/kilowatt-hour. Even if the true cost turns out to be double that, wow, just WOW. As Mankins mentions in his TEDx talk, today's US market prices range anywhere from 10¢ to 40¢/kilowatt-hour. No emissions and an eventual cost less than terrestrial production.
That settles it. I gotta buy bigger pom-poms.
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