The service is partnering with defense
contractor Northrop Grumman on the Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstration
and Research project, or SSPIDR for short. SSPIDR would use solar power panels
in space to collect power, convert it to radio frequencies and then beam it
down to remote outposts.
SSPIDR has several interesting advantages.
The most efficient place to collect solar power is in space. According to the
U.S. Department of Energy, Earth’s atmosphere reflects about 30 percent of the
energy back into space. Properly positioned, solar power satellites could also
be fully exposed to the sun, generating optimal levels of electricity. In space
it’s noon 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The problem with space-based solar is
getting the electricity down to the ground. Running cables from space to ground
isn’t practical, so the Air Force wants to investigate converting electricity
into a medium that can be transmitted wirelessly, in this case radio
frequencies. The satellites would be paired with receiving stations on the
ground that could intercept those signals, reconvert them to electricity, and
put them to use.
Right now, in battle zones across the
world, the U.S. military has to use convoys to transport diesel fuel for
generators to remote military outposts. Those convoys, consisting of fuel
trucks and their escorts, are vulnerable to IEDs, ambushes, and other forms of
enemy attack. SSPIDR would allow energy to be beamed straight down to an
outpost, removing the need to expose troops to hostile action.
The system, according to Stars and Stripes,
would be powered by a satellite with solar panels twice as big as a football
field. The satellite would then electronically steer the radio signal, via
antennas, to any point on the ground. The effort is still in the exploratory
phase, with no timetable on deployment of a working system.
0 comments:
Post a Comment