Electricity from the universe

The Japanese space exploration agency (JAXA) is developing a satellite that collects sunlight in the universe and sends it to the ground through a laser beam. It will produce clean electricity in quantities that only large plants can produce.

According to JAXA calculations, such a space plant could produce 1 gigawatt of electricity.

Due to being located in an earthquake zone, Japan is particularly interested in alternative safety options to replace electricity from nuclear plants. Last July Japan only avoided a nuclear disaster in the hairline: The earthquake caused a fire in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world's largest nuclear power plant. So far this factory has not been operating again.

The satellite model collects solar energy into a laser beam, shining down at the receiver station at sea.(Photo: inhabitat.com)

JAXA experts plan to bring a satellite with huge parabolic mirrors to a geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers from the earth. At this height, the velocity of the satellite will be equal to the speed of the earth's rotation, making the satellite seem to stand still above a fixed point.

"We ended the hardest part of the development process," said Masahiro Mori, director of the Advanced Mission research center of JAXA.

The biggest challenge in the past for scientists is the low efficiency of converting sunlight to laser. But now they have made a breakthrough, thanks to new ceramic plates, which have added chromium (to absorb light) and neodymium (to transform sunlight into lasers) so it has been able to transform about 40 % energy received.

The initial laser beam has a diameter of 1 m. On the way to Earth, under ideal conditions, they will emit 50 meters in diameter. However, because on the way they may encounter many confounding factors such as clouds or rain, for safety reasons, scientists plan to build a receiving station with a diameter of 100 m to 200 m on the face. sea. Although this laser beam is only about 1 millionth of the strength of laser weapons, it is still necessary to stay away from the possible dangers for humans that have not been studied.

The first test with a satellite on the planet is expected to begin in 2013. In 2030, the first commercial space power plant will be operational. And maybe, this clean energy source will replace nuclear power in the future.

Jori, a researcher at JAXA, believes that Japan can install about 20 satellites with a total capacity of 20 to 100 gigawatts in space in 30 years. That's about double what the 54 nuclear reactors are currently producing.