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.
Fossil fuels are destroying our world when the technology is present to stop this. Luckily in the past fifty years’ fossil fuel use has declined and is steadily declining more. Nonrenewable energy has worked, but it is primitive, in the future it will only be something of the past. But with the most support renewable energy can become a worldwide power source. Europe uses so of the most wind energy production process, so when will we? But one other type of renewable energy is becoming solar power. All energy comes from the sun, why not get our energy straight from the source, but materials to produce solar panels are very rare and expensive. Let’s make a change and
Ed Welsh and Bo Haeberle discovered an idea of the solar feeder. After years of developing, the product became very successful. It even won several prizes like the best new product in the Bird Watch America trade show, the national birding convention. After this, Ed and Bo decided to sell their final product under new established company Squirrel Defense, Inc. They opened a small shop in Greensboro and begin the production of the solar feeder so they could take orders for the demanded product. Owners spent too much money and time on developing the product and now, their expectations are high because they have an advantage of unique product and even the investors showed interest in the company.
In this modern fast paced world that we live in, there are many issues that are looked over, energy is one of these. As a world, we are dependant on dwindling fossil fuel supplies and take for granted electricity, oil, and gas. There are four completely renewable sources of energy around us that should be used and developed, they are: wind, growing plants, flowing water, and the sun. These sources of energy are the ones we should be tapping, because they are reliable and renewable. Harnessing the suns energy is the most certain and ultimate energy source. Looking at a brief history and some facts about solar energy, a glimpse of the future can be seen, a future not dependant on
When all of our natural fossil fuels are low or gone, solar energy will be one of the leading sources of energy that we will need in the future.
Attention Getter: Let’s look ahead fifty years and see what the world is like. Imagine a world that is in total war with no end in sight. The cause behind this war is simple, oil. Everyone is fighting over those last few reserves of oil. How can this future be prevented? The answer is solar power.
The sun is a massive burning ball of hydrogen that outputs gigantic quantities of energy every second. Sunlight is an excellent energy source and the future of using solar power is very exciting. The Sun's energy can be used to heat and cool buildings, generate electricity, operate communication, and GPS systems and even power solar cars. The sun’s energy is clean and solar panels used to harness the energy are low maintenance.
Although space is empty and vast, it contains the most amount of usable energy, the sun. However, even with something so mass and what appears infinite it has its limitations. “The amount of electrical power a spacecraft requires is dictated by the mission. Uninterrupted power must often be supplied for up to 10 years or more.” Solar power requires large equipment and must maintain line-of-sight with the sun, however, solar power has the most concentration of energy. Nuclear power can have large independent output while taking up less space. However, the power, though continuous, is not always constant. Both methods of power are able to sustain equipment energy needs for long journeys across the universe
The sun is the source of all life on Earth. In just one hour the sunlight hitting the earth’s surface provides enough energy to power the global economy for a full year (Brown, 2015). The sun will continue to burn for billions of years, making it an unquestionably reliable source for renewable energy. Modern-day photovoltaic (PV) solar cells rely on the photoelectric effect, a phenomenon where light is used to free electrons from a solid surface - usually silicon - to create electricity. PV panels are typically installed on homes and buildings, or in ground arrangements, sometimes called solar farms.
Electricity generation and storage plays a vital part of space missions. Without which space exploration would not be possible. Beginning in the 1950’s, ‘Sputnik 1’ used batteries as its only power supply, since then the methods of electricity generation to power spacecrafts have developed and improved immensely, branching out to solar and nuclear systems.
It was previously stated that “solar electric propulsion provides such high fuel economy that it reduces the amount of propellant required onboard vehicles for deep-space missions by as much as 90 percent”18. With this statement, alternate ions and configurations have been extensively researched and compared to find the best alternative solution.
Solar energy has been one of the most newly introduced forms of electricity in the past half century, as solar panels become more and more frequent from year to year. One of the biggest pros about solar energy is the renewability. This means that we cannot physically run out of solar energy, as opposed to non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels, coal and nuclear. According to NASA, we will have access to solar energy for as long as the sun lives (Solar Energy). Although there are emissions associated with the manufacturing, transportation and installation of solar power systems, it’s almost nothing compared to most conventional energy sources considering harnessing solar energy does not cause pollution. Solar energy has also proven to reduce electricity costs as homeowners can now “sell” excess electricity during times when they produce
With the growing cost of fuel for cars and the rolling blackouts of last summer, the need for an alternative, cost-effective, environment friendly energy source is escalating. Many possible solutions have been presented, such as nuclear power, wind power, and hydrogen fuel cells; prevalent among these is solar power.
Almost everyone has heard of solar energy already. Although it is very well known, it has to be used by many people. The biggest problem is the cost of solar energy. There are only a select few who use solar energy. Solar energy has many benefits, but when one sees the price of solar energy, they turn their head the other way. In the beginning, solar cells were extremely expensive to make. They were used in special applications, such as aircraft. Performance mattered more than the cost of making solar cells. However, it is less expensive to make. This is where the problem lies, how to increase efficiency while keeping the manufacturing at a low cost. The energy consumption of solar energy falls below one percent of total energy consumption.
Humans need а potent and a sustainablе source for energy that can produce clear and cheap energy. Planet Earth already has one in the form of the sun and wind, so it should not come as а surprise that the largest energy source for the future going to come from the sun. First of all, price makes everything more advanced and sorely to build or produce. Secondly, benefit shows the destiny of a product. Finally, “impact on the environment” is what people should to think about. The differences between nuclear fusion and space-based solar power highlight that 'Nuclear fusion ' is more useful, proving that scientists need to give more attention to developing this power system.
In order for one to further understand the importance of solar energy, the problem of global warming must be explained. As defined by Webster’s Dictionary, “Global Warming” is an increase in the earth’s average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect. With an average increase in atmospheric temperatures, our planet is slowly deteriorating. In order to stall or halt this global destruction, countries must turn to solar energy as a cleaner alternative to the depletion of fossil fuels. Solar energy creates a homeostasis for the climate. Due to its ability to decrease global climate changes, solar power can address global warming in several ways.