China is really ramping up its space-related projects this year, as indicated in its latest announcement to build the world's first power station in orbit around the planet. Followings its successful visit to the far side of the moon, the country has now announced its plans to increase its power output through the construction of a solar power station 36,000 kilometers above the planet.
The announcement, made by state-backed Science and Technology Daily, revealed China's plans to have a small power station in orbit by 2025. The station will then be slowly upgraded to reach megawatt levels by 2030. The facility will then be upgraded once again to reach gigawatt power levels by 2050. Scientists in China have already started construction of an experimental power station in the city of Chongqing. The experiment is meant to test various technical concepts, which would eventually lead to the final power station that would be launched into space.
Current solar power arrays on earth can provide a reasonable amount of energy to cities around the world. However, solar panels on earth are still quite limited in terms of their capacity to produce power around the clock. China's scientists believe that harnessing the sun's energy directly from space will be exponentially more effective given that it is not limited to getting power only during sunny days. Without interference from clouds or incurring any night-time losses, these solar farms in space could provide a virtually unlimited amount of clean energy.
The country's proposed power stations will also be equipped with built-in transmitters that could beam electricity back to earth using lasers or microwaves. The transmitted power can then be added into the grid via a proprietary receiving station on earth. The ambitious plan does sound like a great project, but Chinese scientists still have to solve a number of technical challenges.
The first major challenge would be to get the power stations into orbit. A relatively small power station would likely weight more than thousand tons, which may be a very expensive endeavor in itself. Building the station in space could be an option, but transporting the necessary materials will still cost a lot of money. Even with the country's US$8 billion annual budget for its space program, getting the proposed power stations into orbit will still be quite expensive. There is also the question of the effects of microwave radiation, which will be generated through power transmission, on the atmosphere.
Despite these challenges, China is still continuing its push to compete with its rivals for technological dominance. If China is able to pull this project off, its new orbital power stations will definitely be giving it an edge in its quest to becoming the leading superpower in space.
