	Home
	Contribute / Donate
	Contact Us

Research Interests

Resources

Space Community Calendar

Projects & Research

Campaigns & Activities

Donate / Contribute

About the Institute

Home Page

Make a Contribution

Visit Our Store

Find us on Facebook Here

Space-Based Energy for Earth & Space Applications

Home Energy

Space based Energy

Energy has always been one of humanity's greatest challenges. We are interested in the way human expansion into space will provide opportunities and challenges in energy. Considerable thought is going into space-based solar concepts for transmission to Earth. The Institute for Space Development Research is also very interested in the development of a space platform for energy acquisition and transmission for operations in space.

New energy technology is an area where significant research and development effort can be put into systems that are suitable for our Earthly needs and our efforts in space. There are already efforts underway to develop this technology and private companies are reaching agreements with energy providers to develop space-based solar energy systems in the United States and the Japanese government has committed considerable funding to develop a system for Japanese civilian use.

Technology & Investment Overlap

Investing in the development of energy systems serves the dual purpose of meeting energy requirements for space operations and developing important new energy systems for Earth. Both Earth and space energy systems require new technology development in energy acquisition, high-capacity storage, wireless power transmission, and smart systems for efficient power management. Energy storage is a very serious limitation to many of the various alternative and green systems like solar and wind being considered on Earth.

Energy for Propulsion, Operations, & Habitation

Space will require the capability to source, convert, and use energy found in space for use in propulsion systems, operations, human habitation, operational bases, and settlements. Areas of concern include:

Acquisition of energy and fuels via solar collection and the use of space-based volatiles.
Storage of energy and volatiles / fuels.
Transmission and distribution of power and physical transfer of fuels / gases / solids.
Development of "common" systems and fuels vs. specialized systems.

Space-Based Solar Power for Earth

Obtaining energy from space via solar collection is a concept that has been considered for some time now. There are many potential benefits of getting energy in this way including:

Up to 8x more energy incident on solar panels vs. Earth-based systems.
24 Hours of solar energy collection.
No weather considerations.

To date, however, many technical challenges to the deployment of this technology remain.

Technological challenges to collecting energy in space and transmitting it to Earth.
Practicality, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
Protection from space debris and micrometeorites.
Large number of launches required to develop the platform using current launch technology would be heavily polluting and costly.

Energy Systems for Use in Space

An additional benefit of space-based solar power is the possibility of using it as an "electrical outlet" in space.

Solar energy collection for Earth-orbit, intraspace, and surface operations.
Energy transmission to remote spacecraft, probes, and ground locations.
The "electrical outlet" in space as a mission cost reduction platform.

Please Consider Contributing to the Institute for Space Development Research

We hope you'll consider contributing or donating to the non-profit efforts of the Institute for Space Development Research. Our work supports the effort to explore and develop the near-Earth environment for the benefit of Earth and humanity, research human settlement and space-based resource acquisition, and remove barriers for private industry while creating technical jobs, economic opportunity, and supporting the next generation.