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Energy Systems | 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. ISDR 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 some private companies have even reached agreements with energy providers to develop space-based solar energy systems in the United States. 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 urgently 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 & Fuels | 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 eventually human settlements. Areas of consideration include:

Acquisition of energy via solar collection.
Acquisition and development of fuels from volatiles acquired in space.
The potential of batteries and fuel-cells.
Laser-based wireless point-to-point power transmission and collection.

Energy Systems for Use in Space

A benefit of space-based solar power and energy systems is the possibility of using them 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.
On Earth, a major component of operational costs for mining and development operations involve energy. The affordability of this vital resource will be a major determinant in any plan to operate and access resources in space.
Energy systems need to be an early technology development focus in overall space development.
Early development of space-based solar collection and transmission technologies for use in space would accelerate development of a space-to-Earth solar energy delivery system.

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, logistical, and safety challenges to transmitting energy to Earth.
Practicality, safety, and cost-effectiveness versus other emerging energy platforms on Earth.
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.

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.