China has announced an ambitious plan for the construction of a gigantic Spatial Solar Centraledestined to collect and transmit energy to the earth continuously. The project includes the launch of the structure piece by piece thanks to the new ones super-pitting rockets developed by the country.
Chinese scientists have revealed the details of this colossal orbiting solar stationwhich will have an extension of 1 kilometer of width and will be positioned in a geostationary orbit a 36,000 km from the earth. The energy generated will be transmitted to our planet through microwaveallowing a constant supply, independent of atmospheric conditions.
This project was compared to Three Gorges damthe largest hydroelectric power plant in the world located on the Yangtze river, capable of producing 100 billion Kilowattora per year. Second Long Lehaochief designer of the rockets Long March, this space plant would be like “transferring the three gorges to space”. The energy that he can collect in one year will be equivalent to the entire amount of removable oil on earth.
Space solar energy: an alternative without limits compared to terrestrial sources
Despite the progress in solar technologies, the panels installed on the earth’s surface have some limitations, such as the intermittence due to cloud cover and the absorption of solar energy by the atmosphere. Spatial solar power plants, on the other hand, they would receive a ten -time amount of energy higher Compared to the panels on the ground, ensuring continuous and stable production.
However, one of the main obstacles to the development of this technology has always been the cost and complexity of transporting the enormous necessary structures into space. To overcome this problem, China is developing the Long March-9 reusable rocket (CZ-9)able to transport Over 150 tons of load. This vehicle will also be essential for the Chinese lunar program, which involves the construction of a International research basis on the moon by 2035.
Not only China: other countries focus on spatial solar energy
China is not the only nation interested in spatial solar plants. Also US companies such as Lockheed Martin And Northrop GummantheEuropean Space Agency (ESA) and theJapanese space agency Jaxa They are exploring this possibility. Japan, in particular, has scheduled the launch of a Experimental satellite To test the feasibility of the collection and transmission of solar energy from space.
If these projects are successful, space sun energy could become a revolutionary solution to solve the problems related to traditional energy sources and guarantee large -scale sustainable supply.
