China aims for the stars with ambitious solar space station
China plans to create a massive photovoltaic installation in space. They predict that the project could harness more energy in a year than the entire world's oil reserves.
This ambitious plan involves the construction of a colossal space station powered by solar energy. It will be gradually launched into orbit using newly developed heavy rockets. Among these technologies is the Long March 5 rocket, which the China National Space Administration used to launch the Tianwen-1 Mars rover. The launch took place from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the island of Hainan on July 23, 2020.
Giant space power plant
According to the Live Science portal, Chinese scientists plan to construct a giant solar power station approximately 1 kilometre wide. The installation is tasked with transmitting uninterrupted energy to Earth in the form of microwave waves. Placing the individual elements in geostationary orbit has been dubbed the "another Three Gorges Dam project above the Earth."
The existing Three Gorges Dam, located in central China on the Yangtze River, is considered the world's largest hydropower project, delivering 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. One NASA scientist noted that the mass of water in the fully filled dam could increase the length of a day on Earth by 0.06 microseconds.
Long Lehao, the chief specialist for Long March rockets, was quoted by Live Science as acknowledging that the new initiative will have significance comparable to moving the Three Gorges Dam to an orbit at an altitude of 35,400 kilometres above Earth. During a lecture organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Long emphasized that the energy collected over a year could equal the total amount of oil extracted globally.
Barriers to photovoltaic power will exist even in space
Despite progress in the economic and efficient exploitation of solar energy, this technology still faces challenges, such as cloud cover or the absorption of solar rays by the atmosphere before they reach the surface.
To address these issues, Long and his team are working on the development of the Long March-9 rocket, which is to be reusable and capable of carrying payloads of at least 150 metric tonnes. This rocket will support not only satellite endeavors but also China's plans for landing on the Moon. The country aims to establish an international research base on its surface by 2035.
In addition to China, other countries are also exploring the possibilities of solar satellite arrays. Among them are American companies such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, as well as space agencies from Europe and Japan. The Japanese agency JAXA plans to launch a small test satellite this year to assess the feasibility of this solution.
