Space Energy: Will Space-Based Solar Power Be the Wave of the Future?

Solar power has been seen in science fiction space travels and the roof of a Caltech lab. Learn more about the recent breakthroughs in space energy.

By Avery Hurt
Aug 11, 2023 3:00 PMAug 11, 2023 4:41 PM
Space Energy
(Credit:KDdesignphoto/Shutterstock)

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The April 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction included "Reason," a story by Isaac Asimov later published in the collection I, Robot. The story in Asimov's Robot series was set on a space station that beams power in the form of microwaves directly to planets.

More than 30 years later, Peter Glaser, a NASA engineer who worked on, among other projects, the Apollo moon missions, took a big step in turning Asimov's plot device into reality. Glaser designed — and in 1973 was granted a patent for — a system that would use satellite-mounted solar panels to convert solar energy to microwaves and then beam that energy back to Earth.

At that time, it was "conceptually possible" to imagine a system like Glaser's in orbit, says Harry Atwater, "but the cost of getting it there was prohibitive."

Breakthroughs in Space Energy

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