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Space Based Solar Power ( Sbsp )

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Space-Based Solar Power It is no secret that the earth is in need of a new sustainable source of energy. There is a limited supply of fossil fuels on the planet, and the energy-generating solutions that are currently in action are only decelerating the rate of consumption of nonrenewable energy. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that the earth will run out of useable fossil fuels by 2088 if the current rates of consumption continue. A promising long-term solution to this crisis is space-based solar power (SBSP). To attain SBSP, satellites are sent up in space to obtain direct and constant solar energy, then laser technology beams the gathered energy down to earth where it can be constantly and globally utilized. Space-based solar power is not a new idea, the Department of Energy first studied it in the 1970s, and NASA took another look in the '90s. The stumbling block has been less the engineering challenge than the cost (Sofge). Funding for space-based solar power is costly, but not unreasonable. As the current energy on earth depletes and the urgency for a new sustainable source grows, there must be greater steps made towards a solution. Space-based solar power is a viable solution to the world’s looming need for a new energy source, but in order to make this idea a reality more funding is needed. "The challenge is one of perception," says John Mankins, president of the Space Power Association and the leader of NASA 's mid-1990s SBSP study.

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