Tuesday 7 June 2022 05:31 PM China plans to launch a solar power plant space station that will beam energy ... trends now
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China has announced plans to bring forward its launch of a solar power plant that would beam energy back down to Earth from space.
The first step of the ambitious project is now slated to take place in 2028, two years ahead of the original schedule, when a trial satellite will be launched to test the technology.
It would involve the use of wireless power transmission from space to the ground from an altitude of 248 miles (400km).
Beijing would be stealing a march on NASA, which first proposed a similar energy project more than two decades ago but never took it on.
The UK government has also commissioned independent research to support putting a £16billion British version into orbit by 2035.
Reports suggest that once fully operational by 2050, the space-based solar array will send a similar amount of electricity into the grid as a nuclear power station
China's updated plan was detailed in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Chinese Space Science and Technology.
Researchers said the satellite would 'convert solar energy to microwaves or lasers and direct the energy beams to various targets, including fixed locations on Earth and moving satellites', according to the South China Morning Post.
It is thought that by using microwaves the team will be able to reduce the amount of energy lost as it passes through the atmosphere.
The basic concept involves a space station with a solar array to convert solar energy into electrical energy.
Then it would use a microwave transmitter or laser emitter to transmit the energy to a collector on Earth.
Advantages of the technology include the
