China has announced plans to build a giant solar power space station, which will be lifted into orbit piece by piece using the nation's brand-new heavy lift rockets.
I wonder if it’s economically viable at this point? I know that solar panels produce much more energy in space and are probably more reliable but is it going to be enough to cover the cost of maintenance? Getting stuff to space is still very expensive
So far it just looks like a proposal, but a lot of prior research has been done on the subject already. NASA has a number of studies discussing efficiency, costs, etc. I imagine they’ll do a trial experiment first, and then depending on how that goes they’ll decide whether to scale it up or not.
Having a power plant that literally solves the energy problem is worth pretty much anything. Especially for a country like China, which has to import huge amounts of oil through geopolitically risky routes.
I wonder if it’s economically viable at this point? I know that solar panels produce much more energy in space and are probably more reliable but is it going to be enough to cover the cost of maintenance? Getting stuff to space is still very expensive
I’m guessing they’ve done at least basic cost/benefit analysis here. :)
sure, but what I’m asking is, is it an actual power plant or a research project?
So far it just looks like a proposal, but a lot of prior research has been done on the subject already. NASA has a number of studies discussing efficiency, costs, etc. I imagine they’ll do a trial experiment first, and then depending on how that goes they’ll decide whether to scale it up or not.
Its not that radical.
Having a power plant that literally solves the energy problem is worth pretty much anything. Especially for a country like China, which has to import huge amounts of oil through geopolitically risky routes.
I have intresting news a out comunist China ans their views on infrastructure needing to be profitable.
I’m talking about viability, not profitability. Obviously a power plant should generate more energy than you put into it
Yeah, it’s solar panels. We know they work. If it it negative efficient they can just cover the expense. It is worth it to pay for clean energy.