A solar power station in space? How it would work, and the benefits it could bring
Friday, 18 March 2022 14:00
The UK government is reportedly considering a £16 billion proposal to build a solar power station in space.
Yes, you read that right. Space-based solar power is one of the technologies to feature in the government's Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. It has been identified as a potential solution, alongside others, to enable the UK to achieve net zero by 2050.
But how would a solar power station in space work? What are the advantages and drawbacks to this technology?
Space-based solar power involves collecting solar energy in space and transferring it to Earth. While the idea itself is not new, recent technological advances have made this prospect more achievable.
The space-based solar power system involves a solar power satellite—an enormous spacecraft equipped with solar panels. These panels generate electricity, which is then wirelessly transmitted to Earth through high-frequency radio waves. A ground antenna, called a rectenna, is used to convert the radio waves into electricity, which is then delivered to the power grid.
Week in images: 14 - 18 March 2022
Friday, 18 March 2022 13:10
Week in images: 14 - 18 March 2022
Discover our week through the lens
Poland, Virgin Orbit partner on Eastern Europe satellite launch initiative
Friday, 18 March 2022 12:11
In a bid to secure a domestic launch capability, the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) signed a letter of intent with Virgin Orbit to use the U.S. company’s air-launched LauncherOne system as soon as next year.
NASA rolls out its mega Moon rocket
Friday, 18 March 2022 10:09
NASA's massive new rocket began its first journey to a launchpad on Thursday ahead of a battery of tests that will clear it to blast off to the Moon this summer.
It left the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building around 5:47 pm Eastern Time (2147 GMT) and began an 11-hour journey on a crawler-transporter to the hallowed Launch Complex 39B, four miles (6.5 kilometers) away.
Aro First spacewalk for Matthias Maurer
Friday, 18 March 2022 09:00
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer is scheduled to perform his first spacewalk next week, stepping outside the International Space Station on Wednesday 23 March alongside NASA’s Raja Chari.
Artemis: crawling towards launch
Friday, 18 March 2022 09:00
Video:
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One of the many milestones in the leadup to the launch of Artemis is its rollout: this is when a crawler will carry the SLS rocket with Orion and ESM from the Vehicle Assembly Building to launchpad 39B. NASA’s John Giles gives us a tour of the crawler and explains the adaptations made to this “wonderful piece of machinery” since it was first built for the Apollo programme in the 1960s. ESA is playing a key role in NASA’s Artemis programme, which will bring astronauts back to the Moon. The European Service Module – or ESM –
China is developing new solid rockets to boost overall space capabilities
Friday, 18 March 2022 08:44
Chinese state-owned entities are developing a growing range of solid rockets to meet growing launch demands and contribute to a wider strategy of making China a fully-fledged space power.
The post China is developing new solid rockets to boost overall space capabilities appeared first on SpaceNews.
Earth from Space: Lake Nasser, Egypt
Friday, 18 March 2022 08:00
Part of Lake Nasser, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, is featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
SLS rolls out to pad for countdown test
Friday, 18 March 2022 07:58
The first Space Launch System rocket rolled out to its launch pad here March 17 for a countdown dress rehearsal ahead of its long-delayed launch this summer on the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission.
Pete Davidson skipping ride to space on Jeff Bezos rocket
Friday, 18 March 2022 07:04![Pete Davidson skipping ride to space on Jeff Bezos rocket](https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2022/pete-davidson-skipping.jpg "Comedian Pete Davidson attends the premiere of "Big Time Adolescence" at Metrograph on Thursday, March 5, 2020, in New York. Pete Davidson has bowed out of a short trip to space in late March. Jeff Bezos' space travel company said Thursday, March 17, 2022, that the "Saturday Night Live" star is no longer able to make the flight. Credit: Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File")
US comic Pete Davidson not going to space after all
Friday, 18 March 2022 06:35
Plot twist: American comedian and actor Pete Davidson isn't going to space next week after all.
The 28-year-old star of Saturday Night Live, who has been in the news recently because of his relationship with Kim Kardashian, is "no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission," Blue Origin said in an announcement late Thursday.
The space company owned by Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos di Poland signs with Virgin Orbit for domestic launch services
Friday, 18 March 2022 06:35
In an official letter of intent with the leading responsive space company Virgin Orbit (Nasdaq: VORB), the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), the agency overseeing Poland's space development, conveyed its strong interest in bringing a domestic launch capability to Poland, a development uniquely made possible through Virgin Orbit's air-launched LauncherOne system.
The signed letter codifies the P A View Filled With Ventifacts - Sols 3417-3418
Friday, 18 March 2022 06:35
Our Monday drive was successful, and we are now fully surrounded by the rocks that cap the Greenheugh pediment. From here we can see hundreds of ventifacts - a term that describes rocks which have been abraded by wind-blown sand into distinctive, flattened facets with crisp edges. This terrain is very different from what we've become used to seeing during our climb up Mt. Sharp!
Today's pl New microscopic organisms found in deep sea trench baffle Chile scientists
Friday, 18 March 2022 06:35
When Chilean scientist Osvaldo Ulloa led an expedition 8,000 meters under the sea to an area where no human had ever been, his team discovered microscopic organisms that generated more questions than answers.
The January submarine expedition dove into the Atacama Trench, created by the meeting of two tectonic plates in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
"We pulled off the feat of taking humans i OneWeb partners with Axiros for critical customer infrastructure support
Friday, 18 March 2022 06:35
When the nearest service engineer is a 2-hour helicopter flight away, manual troubleshooting and firmware updates really aren't an option. So who does OneWeb trust for remote management of their user terminals? Axiros.
As if it wasn't demanding enough managing your core network components out in space, there are also extreme on-the-ground challenges for a satellite operator like OneWeb. Th