Space-Based Solar Power Hardware Was Just Launched into Orbit for Testing

https://singularityhub.com/2023/01/06/hardware-to-test-space-based-solar-power-was-just-launched-into-orbit/

by cheinyeanlim • 4 years ago

3 5 4 years ago

I wish every headline about "Space Solar" would include the phrase -Orbital Ion Cannon-

This is a much more frightening concept than the ground-based reflective solar that is already known to blind/cook birds

Hope they keep that thing pointed the right way, and that there are failsafes for mis-direction or loss of orientation

ggm2• 4 years ago

1) the RF it transmits is in the microwave region and is not photons, ions or ionising radiation as I understand it

2) the receiving stations are typically huge, antenna farms, and intensity per cm^2 is within tolerable and would not cook eyeballs or focus to a point

3) you would be aware that a vast semi incoherent tuned light source of incredible magnitude, based on fusion power, emits RF all the way up into the optical region and beyond into UV, and can represent a severe threat for only 15 minutes radiation or 'insolation' as it is sometimes called, and has shockingly predictable recurrence on a 24h cycle, except when a small orbital safety screen is in exactly the right place for brief occultations. We've learned to respect the furnace, and it's gravitational effect on us.

tuatoru• 4 years ago

The other day I received moderate radiation burns from the source described in 3. So far the skin peeling is fairly limited...

nullish_signal2• 4 years ago

Ah, hopefully you're right that this technology will always be similar to daytime Sun intensity. It really scares the hell out of me

Space-Based Solar Power Hardware Was Just Launched into Orbit for Testing

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