The U.S. Navy is currently considering a solar power plan straight out of science fiction: putting up a solar array the size of nine interlocked football fields up into space, where they would be able to power equipment and electronics even in remote areas.
Spacecraft engineer Paul Jaffe, from our U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, is working on the project as we speak. Jaffe is designed solar modules that he intends to launch into space individually, where robots would eventually assemble them into a huge solar array. This structure would convert solar energy into a radio frequency, which would be beamed to receivers on Earth that would work even in the most remote of areas.
At the moment, Jaffe is testing two separate types of solar modules, one that would unfold tech into a zig-zag space, and one that would fold over the tech. Both come with reflectors that would concentrate the necessary solar energy onto the array.
According to Discovery, the Navy believes that such an array would help power military installations, as well as help keep operations covert. It could also be used to power civilian installations…like an entire city.
The only problem with the plan is that it’s insane.
While Jaffe remains cheerfully optimistic about his designs, stating that it’s “hard to tell if it’s nuts until you’ve actually tried”in a press release, there are those who are afraid that building a structure the size of nine football fields using remote robots in space will be exactly as easy and as cost-effective as it sounds. Just building solar technology here on Earth has been a gigantic pain. They’re financial pitfalls that never seem to harvest as much energy as they promised.
Andthey kill birds.
But, solar energy is still one of the cleanest forms of energy out there, and it’s still in its early stages. Jaffe’s project would be pretty cool if it worked, wouldn’t it?
Source Discovery
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