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China plans to build ‘Three Gorges dam in space’ to harness solar power
I see the Chinese have found access to space rivers?
But jokes aside, I think it’s a bit clickbaity (from the article) to say “China plans” when the article only mentions a single scientist who is pretty much saying “wouldn’t it be cool if we had this?”. I’m sure out of all countries, China could build this, but I’d temper my excitement from just this statement.
Yeah, and orbital microwave power stations also have arms-control treaty implications. China has agreed (through accession) to following the stipulations of the Outer Space Treaty which forbids weapons of mass destruction in space. The difference between a microwave power transmitter and an orbiting energy weapon is only the difference between aiming it at a ground station’s rectennas and aiming it at a military target. Traditional ground-based solar power has its flaws but at least it’s an undeniably peaceful project.
Everything is dual use if you look at an economy holistically. Also like as a weapon it’s kind of terrible. You fire it once and your enemy retaliates with MAD, completely destroying geosynchronous orbit with debris.
You fire it once and your enemy retaliates with MAD, completely destroying geosynchronous orbit with debris.
I was thinking about this specific project’s geopolitical implications more from a perspective of “how will the paranoiacs in the US upper echelons react?” I agree that it’s supremely unlikely that the Chinese government would actually weaponize it. But the American establishment would freak out at the possibility, due to projection. They’ve had dreams of orbiting energy weapons for as long as they’ve had spaceflight, often in the form of solar collectors powering microwave transmitters.
Wouldn’t even need to do a MAD really, if this was even a threat they could debris up an orbit pretty quick. Probably real easy to point a spy satellite at another satellite too
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I’d take a look at it
*Archimedes joins the chat
I was thinking the literal guy the weapon was named after but yes
Basically everything interesting in space is a targeting change from being a weapon of mass destruction, from Sputnik right on.
Absolutely. It’s all dual-use tech.
Carve out a 50 year plan and get it done in 10. Meanwhile the private sector finally sets up its own space station that stays in orbit for 3 days.
I mean I guess we’ll see how fast space industry develops with the proliferation of reusable rockets but I seriously doubt gigawatt scale powersats will happen in the next couple of decades.
If Chinese moon base plans pan out, then it might be cheaper to start producing stuff on the moon and sending it to orbit from there at some point. I agree this is decades away either way though.
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I mostly agree. Space-based solar power is probably right at the boundary of space infrastructure that’s feasible while largely relying on Earth-based supplies.
“Imagine installing a solar array 1km wide along the 36,000km geostationary orbit,”
This seems like a very weird idea for where to put a space based solar array. The geostationary orbit is already pretty crowded, and a lot of the array would be edge on to the sun at any given time.
GEO is the traditional place to put powersats. They stay in the sun for like 99% of the year and they’re always above your rectenna. Also there’s way less variation in velocity among GEO satellites so you’d expect Kessler syndrome to be less of a concern.
Sure, but a big ass square of powersat in GEO above your ground station is a very different prospect from a band around the entire orbit
Oh I seriously doubt they meant a 36,000 km by 1 km wide array. They probably mean 1km by 1km which should be gigawatt scale.
Maybe the article/translation mangled what the scientist they’re quoting was saying
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Yeah, if USSR made it through the 90s then it likely would’ve been doing some really amazing things today. Luckily, we’ve got China to carry the torch now.
Prometheanism intensifies
Oh no, I’ve played Simcity 2000, I know how this ends
没有共产党，就没有新中国
Do they even make power cables that can reach that far?
I was kind if hoping powering batteries in space to have an energy logistic train, but Golden Eye it is!
