Mining on space energy

[FP91G]

I read about this method of powering the Earth in science fiction, but now it works

Scientists continue to search for clean and sustainable energy sources. One of the promising areas in this activity is the development of technologies that will make it possible to capture solar energy directly in space and then transmit it to Earth. Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have achieved some success in this, who managed to collect energy using an orbital satellite and transmit it to Earth.

The mission began on January 3, 2023, when the research vehicle was delivered into low Earth orbit using a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Exactly two months later, scientists began experimenting with MAPLE and as a result, the mission was considered a success. In the future, the researchers plan to create a constellation of satellites such as SPPD-1, which will be able to transmit energy to Earth to supply 10 thousand households. However, this is still a long way off, since at the moment MAPLE captures from 175 to 251 mW of energy in space at a time, and only 1 mW of energy has reached the ground station.
https://technewsspace.com/for-the-first-time-in-history-a-satellite-transmitted-solar-energy-from-space-to-earth/

The efficiency is very small, but if this technology develops, we will get a lot of endless and environmentally friendly electricity

[philipma1957]

I read about this method of powering the Earth in science fiction, but now it works

Scientists continue to search for clean and sustainable energy sources. One of the promising areas in this activity is the development of technologies that will make it possible to capture solar energy directly in space and then transmit it to Earth. Scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have achieved some success in this, who managed to collect energy using an orbital satellite and transmit it to Earth.

The mission began on January 3, 2023, when the research vehicle was delivered into low Earth orbit using a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Exactly two months later, scientists began experimenting with MAPLE and as a result, the mission was considered a success. In the future, the researchers plan to create a constellation of satellites such as SPPD-1, which will be able to transmit energy to Earth to supply 10 thousand households. However, this is still a long way off, since at the moment MAPLE captures from 175 to 251 mW of energy in space at a time, and only 1 mW of energy has reached the ground station.
https://technewsspace.com/for-the-first-time-in-history-a-satellite-transmitted-solar-energy-from-space-to-earth/

The efficiency is very small, but if this technology develops, we will get a lot of endless and environmentally friendly electricity

must be nice to be 20. tons of clean power for millions of years.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Riiiiggghhhtttt...
Once again everything old is new again. The idea was proven to work decades ago.

The technology required aside, one big issue with it is this:
With many folks already (wrongly) raising hell about about the low power RF emissions from cell towers, what makes the researchers think that beaming megawatts of RF energy down to Earth from space is a good, safe idea and that it would be accepted by the public?

I will fuckinguarantee it won't be and in this case the rabble rousers would be right.

[ABCbits]

Aside from efficiency, with cost of bringing stuff into space, i wonder how long it'll take until it could be competitive with other energy source (which produced entirely on earth).

The technology required aside, one big issue with it is this:
With many folks already (wrongly) raising hell about about the low power RF emissions from cell towers, what makes the researchers think that beaming megawatts of RF energy down to Earth from space is a good, safe idea and that it would be accepted by the public?

Are there really that many folks who actually do that? AFAIK people who oppose 5G and roughly similar technology is in minority. And if i read the news correctly, the energy (from space) transmitted to very specific area which makes government have easier time to convince people that it's safe.

[FP91G]

Safety for humans or safety for the environment? It is very difficult for the government to convince citizens that old technologies are safe.

Germany Brings Back Mothballed Coal Plants to Help Keep Lights On
Three plants from RWE and LEAG in stand-by to be switched on
Measure should help nation save gas, economy ministry says
Germany will bring several mothballed coal plants back to the market this winter to ensure that Europe’s largest economy can keep the lights on when demand peaks.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-04/germany-orders-three-old-lignite-plants-to-operate-in-winter

[Crypto Panter]

That's really promising and so interesting being done in a totally different league!...But typically such high-tech solutions takes so long to go from an MVP to a commercialized product. It needs high budgets and enough incentives as well as prominent tech leaders like Elon musk!.... Europe will be one of the first customers I guess bcuz they currently care more about climate-change and clean energies.

[philipma1957]

Hey they could do it over the south pole. almost no one lives there.

what could go wrong with that.

[FP91G]

Hey they could do it over the south pole. almost no one lives there.

what could go wrong with that.

Large energy companies will defend their ionopoly in this market.

Murphy's law[a] is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." In some formulations, it is extended to "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law